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Title: The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 11: New Mexico-Philip
Creator(s): Herbermann, Charles George (1840-1916)
Print Basis: 1907-1913
Rights: From online edition Copyright 2003 by K. Knight, used by
permission
CCEL Subjects: All; Reference
LC Call no: BX841.C286
LC Subjects:
Christian Denominations
Roman Catholic Church
Dictionaries. Encyclopedias
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THE CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA
AN INTERNATIONAL WORK OF REFERENCE
ON THE CONSTITUTION, DOCTRINE,
DISCIPLINE, AND HISTORY OF THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH
EDITED BY
CHARLES G. HERBERMANN, Ph.D., LL.D.
EDWARD A. PACE, Ph.D., D.D. CONDE B PALLEN, Ph.D., LL.D.
THOMAS J. SHAHAN, D.D. JOHN J. WYNNE, S.J.
ASSISTED BY NUMEROUS COLLABORATORS
IN FIFTEEN VOLUMES
VOLUME 11
New Mexico to Philip
New York: ROBERT APPLETON COMPANY
Imprimatur
JOHN M. FARLEY
ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK
__________________________________________________________________
New Mexico
New Mexico
A territory of the United States now (Jan., 1911) awaiting only
the completion of its Constitution and the acceptance thereof by
the Federal authorities to rank as a state. It lies between
31º20' and 37º N. lat., and between 103º2' and 109º2' W. long.;
it is bounded on the north by Colorado, on the east by Oklahoma
and Texas, on the south by Texas and the Republic of Mexico, and
on the west by Arizona. It is about 370 miles from east to west,
335 from north to south, and has an area of 122,580 sq. miles,
with mountain, plateau, and valley on either side of the Rio
Grande. The average rainfall is 12 inches, usually between July
and September, so that spring and summer are dry, and
agriculture and grazing suffer. The climate is uniform, the
summers, as a rule, moderate, and, the atmosphere being dry, the
heat is not oppressive. In the north-west and north-east the
winters are long, but not severe, while in the central and
southern portions the winters are usually short and mild. In the
United States census of 1900 the population was 141,282, of
which 33 per cent was illiterate; in the census of 1910 the
population was 327,296. About one-half of the inhabitants are of
Spanish descent.
The soil in the valleys is a rich and sandy loam, capable, with
irrigation, of producing good crops. It is also rich in gold and
silver, and important mines have been opened near Deming, Silver
City, and Lordsburg, in the south-western part of the state.
There are copper mines near Glorieta in the north, and near
Santa Rita in the south; while coal is found in great abundance
near Gallup, Cerillos, and in the north-west. The mineral
production of New Mexico for 1907 was $7,517,843, that of coal
alone amounting to $3,832,128. In 1909 the net product in coal,
shipped from the mines, was 2,708,624 tons, or a total value of
$3,881,508. A few forests exist in the eastern plains, and
abundant timber is found in the north-western and central
districts. Though mining and commerce as well as agriculture are
now in process of rapid development, New Mexico is still a
grazing country. Sheep-farming is the most important and
lucrative industry; cattle-farming is also of importance. In
1908 and 1909 severe droughts caused the sheep industry to
decline somewhat. In 1909 New Mexico shipped 700,800 head of
sheep; in 1908, 835,800; in 1907, 975,800. The wool shorn in
1909, from over 4,000,000 sheep, was 18,000,000 lbs., which
brought an average of 19 cents per lb., yielding a cash
production of $3,420,000. The shipments of cattle in the same
year amounted to 310,326, and 64,830 hides were handles in the
same period. Farming is successfully carried on in the Rio
Grande and other valleys, Indian corn, wheat, and garden
products being the principal crops. For the year 1907 the
territorial governor's report placed the value of the
agricultural products at $25,000,000, but this was a gross
overestimate. The important manufacturing interests are those
connected with mining, railroads, etc. Lumbering is being
developed by capital brought in from the East, and large lumber
mills are now in operation, notably at Albuquerque. There are 75
banks (41 national and 34 territorial) in the state, with an
aggregate capital of $3,274,086. The bonded debt of the state is
$1,002,000, of which $89,579.49 is covered by the sinking fund.
GENERAL HISTORY
In April, 1536, there arrived at Culiacán, in the Mexican
Province of Sinaloa, Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, AndrÈs
Dorantes, Alonso de Castillo Maldonado, and the negro
Estevanico, the only survivors of the ill-fated expedition of
Narváez which had left Spain in 1528. Mendoza, the Viceroy of
Mexico, was told astonishing tales by Cabeza de Vaca concerning
the wealth of the country to the north, and he forthwith
commanded Coronado, governor of the Province of Nueva Galicia,
to prepare an expedition. The preparations went slowly, and
Mendoza ordered Friar Marcos de Niza to make a preliminary
exploration of the northern country. The Franciscan left
Culiacán in 1539, accompanied by Estevanico and a few Indians.
After untold hardships he reached the famous pueblo of Zuñi,
took possession of all the surrounding country, planted the
cross, and named the territory "The New Kingdom of St. Francis".
Marcos de Niza is, therefore, rightly called the discoverer of
New Mexico and Arizona. He then returned to Mexico, and his
narrative, especially what he said about the seven cities of
Cibola, was an incentive to Coronado, who set out from Culiacán
in 1540, accompanied by Marcos and a large body of Spaniards and
Indians. Coronado crossed Sonora (now Arizona) and entered New
Mexico in July, 1540. The expedition returned in 1542 but,
although many regions were discovered, no conquests were made
nor colonies established. In 1563 an expedition was led into New
Mexico by Francisco de Ibarra: it is worth mentioning only for
the reason that de Ibarra returned in 1565 with the boast that
he had discovered "a new Mexico", which was, probably, the
origin of the name. Espejo entered New Mexico in 1581, but
accomplished nothing. In this same year a Franciscan Friar,
Augustín Rodríguez, entered with a few companions, and lost his
life in the cause of Christianity. In 1581 Espejo called New
Mexico Nueva Andalucia. By 1598 the name Nuevo MÈjico was
evidently well known, since Villagrá's epic is called "Historia
del Nuevo MÈjico".
The expeditions of Espejo and Father Augustín Rodríguez were
followed by many more of an unimportant character, and it was
not until 1598, when Don Juan de Oñate, accompanied by ten
Franciscans under Father Alonso Martínez, and four hundred men,
of whom one hundred and thirty were accompanied by their wives
and families, marched up alongside the Rio Grande, and settled
at San Juan de los Caballeros, near the junction of the Chama
with the Rio Grande, thirty miles north of Santa FÈ. This was
the first permanent Spanish settlement in New Mexico. Here was
established, also, the first mission, and San Juan de los
Caballeros (or San Gabriel, a few miles west on the Chama
river?) was the capital of the new province until it was moved
to Santa FÈ some time between 1602 and 1616. The colony
prospered, missions were established by the Franciscans, new
colonists arrived, and by the middle of the seventeenth century
general prosperity prevailed. In the year 1680, however, a
terrible Indian rebellion broke out under the leadership of
Pope, an Indian of the pueblo of San Juan. All the Spanish
settlements were attacked, and many people massacred. The
survivors fled to Santa FÈ, but, after three days' fighting,
were compelled to abandon the city and were driven out of the
province.
Thus was destroyed the work of eighty years. The Spaniards did
not lose courage: between 1691 and 1693 Antonio de Vargas
reconquered New Mexico and entered it with many of the old
colonists and many more new ones, his entire colony consisting
of 800 people, including seventy families and 200 soldiers. The
old villages were occupied, churches rebuilt, and missions
re-established. A new villa was founded, Santa Cruz de Cañada,
around which most of the families which had come with De Vargas
under Padre Farfán were settled. The colonies, no longer
seriously threatened by the Indians, progressed slowly. By the
end of the eighteenth century the population of New Mexico was
about 34,000, one-half Spaniards. The first half of the
nineteenth century was a period of revolutions -- rapid
transformations of government and foreign invasions, accepted by
the Spanish inhabitants of New Mexico in an easy-going spirit of
submission unparalleled in history.
In 1821 the news of Mexican independence was received, and,
although the people of New Mexico were ignorant of the events
which had preceded it, they celebrated the event with great
enthusiasm and swore allegiance to Iturbide. In 1824, just three
years after independence, came the news of the fall of Iturbide
and the inauguration of the Republic of Mexico: throngs gathered
at Santa FÈ, the people were harangued, and the new regime was
applauded as a blessing to New Mexico. When war was declared
between the United States and Mexico -- an event concerning
which the New Mexicans were ignorant -- General Stephen Watts
Kearny was sent to conquer New Mexico. In 1846 he entered the
territory, and General Armijo, the local military chief, fled to
Mexico. Kearny took possession of the territory in the name of
the United States, promising the people all the rights and
liberties which other citizens of the United States enjoyed. The
people joyfully accepted American rule, and swore obedience to
the Stars and Stripes. At one stroke, no one knew why or how, a
Spanish colony, after existing under Spanish institutions for
nearly three centuries, was brought under the rule of a foreign
race and under new and unknown institutions. After the military
occupation by Kearny in 1846, Charles Bent was civil governor.
He was murdered at Taos, in 1847, by some Spaniards whom he had
grossly offended. In 1847-48 Donaciano Vigil was civil governor.
In 1848, by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, New Mexico was
formally ceded by Mexico to the United States, and in 1850 it
was regularly organized as a territory (which included Arizona
until 1863), and James S. Calhoun was the first territorial
governor. The first territorial Legislative Assembly met at
Santa FÈ in 1851: most of the members were of Spanish descent
and this has been true of all the Assemblies until the end of
the century. Up to 1910 the proceedings of the Legislature were
in Spanish and English, interpreters being always present.
During the years 1861-62 the Texan Confederates entered New
Mexico, to occupy Albuquerque and Santa FÈ, but Federal troops
arrived from Colorado and California and frustrated the attempt.
During the years from 1860 to 1890 New Mexico progressed very
slowly. Education was in a deplorable state (no system was
established until 1890), the surrounding Indians continually
harassed the inhabitants, and no railroad was constructed until
after 1880. In 1860 the population was 80,567; in 1870, 90,573;
in 1880, 109,793. Nine-tenths of the population in 1880 was of
Spanish descent: at present (1911) this element is only about
one-half, owing to the constant immigration from the other
states of the Union. Since 1890 New Mexico has progressed
rapidly. Education is now enthusiastically supported and
encouraged, the natural resources are being quickly developed,
and the larger towns and cities have all the marks of modern
civilization and progress. Since 1850 many unsuccessful attempts
have been made to secure statehood; at last, in June, 1910,
Congress passed an Enabling Act: New Mexico is to adopt a
Constitution, subject to the approval of Congress.
MISSIONS OF NEW MEXICO
The Franciscan Friar Marcos de Niza, as we have seen above,
reached New Mexico near the pueblo of Zuñi in 1539. This short
expedition may be considered, therefore, as the first mission in
New Mexico and what is now Arizona. With the expedition of
Coronado (1540-42) several Franciscans under Marcos de Niza
entered New Mexico. There is some confusion about their exact
number and even about their names. It seems reasonably certain,
however, that Marcos had to abandon the expedition after
reaching Zuñi, and that two Franciscan priests, Juan de Padilla
and Juan de la Cruz, and a lay brother, Luis de Escalona,
continued with the expedition into New Mexico, remained as
missionaries among the Indians when Coronado returned in 1542,
and were finally murdered by them. These were the first three
Christian missionaries to receive the crown of martyrdom within
the present limits of the United States. Forty years after the
Niza and Coronado expeditions of 1539-42, it was again a
Franciscan who made an attempt to gain the New Mexico Indians to
the Faith. This was Father Augustín Rodríguez, who, in 1581,
left San BartolomÈ in Northern Mexico and, accompanied by two
other friars, Juan de Santa María and Fr. Francisco López, and
some seventeen more men, marched up the Rio Grande and visited
many more of the pueblos on both sides of the river. The friars
decided to remain in the new missionary field when the rest of
the expedition returned in 1582, but the Indians proved
intractable and the two friars received the crown of martyrdom.
When news of the fate of Augustín Rodríguez reached San
BartolomÈ in Nueva Vizcaya, Father Bernardino Beltrán was
desirous of making another attempt to evangelize New Mexico,
but, being alone, would not remain there. It was in 1598 that
Don Juan de Oñate made the first permanent Spanish settlement in
New Mexico, at San Juan de los Caballeros. Ten Franciscan friars
under Father Alonso Martínez accompanied Oñate in his conquest,
and established at San Juan the first Spanish Franciscan
mission. Missionary work was begun in earnest, and in 1599 Oñate
sent a party to Mexico for re-enforcements. With this party went
Fathers Martínez, Salazar, and Vergara to obtain more friars.
Salazar died along the way, Martínez did not return, but a new
Franciscan comisario, Juan de Escalona, returned to New Mexico
with Vergara and eight more Franciscans. New missions were being
established in the near pueblos, and prosperity was at hand, but
Oñate's ambitions proved fatal: in 1601 he desired to conquer
the country to the north and west, and started on an expedition
with a small force, taking with him two Franciscans. The people
who remained at and near San Juan de los Caballeros were left
unprotected. Civil discord followed, and the newly-settled
province was abandoned, the settlers, with the friars, moving
south. Father Escalona remained, at the risk of his life, to
await the return of Oñate; but he had written to the viceroy,
asking that Oñate should be recalled. Oñate, with a new
comisario, Francisco Escobar, and Father San Buenaventura, set
out on another counter expedition, and Escalona and the other
friars continued their missionary work among their neophytes.
New re-enforcements arrived between 1605 and 1608, in spite of
Oñate's misrule. In 1608 Father Alonso Peinado came as comisario
and brought with him eight more friars. By this time 8000
Indians had been converted. By 1617 the Franciscans had built
eleven churches and converted 14,000 Indians.
In 1620 Father Gerónimo de Zárate Salmerón, a very zealous
missionary, came to New Mexico. There he worked for eight years,
and wrote a book on Christian doctrine in the language of the
JÈmez. By 1626 the missions numbered 27; 34,000 Indians had been
baptized, and 43 churches built. Of the friars only 16 were
left. In 1630 Fr. Benavides desired to establish a bishopric in
New Mexico, and went to Spain to lay his petition before the
king. In his memorial he says that there were in New Mexico, in
1630, 25 missions, covering 90 pueblos, attended by 50 friars,
and that the Christian natives numbered 60,000. The missions
established in New Mexico in 1630, according to the memorial,
were the following: among the Piros, or Picos, 3 missions
(Socorro, Senecú, Sevilleta); among the Liguas, 2 (Sandia,
Isleta); among the Queres, 3; among the Tompiros, 6; among the
Tanos, 1; among the Pecos, 1; among the Toas, or Tehuas, 3; at
Santa FÈ, 1; among the Taos, 1; among the Zuñi, 2. The other two
are not mentioned. However, the wrongs perpetrated by local
governors exasperated the Indians, and the missionaries were
thus laboring under difficulties. By 1680 the number of missions
had increased to 33, but the Indian rebellion broke out. All the
missions and settlements were destroyed, the churches burned,
and the settlers massacred. The number of victims among the
Spaniards was 400. Of the missionaries, 11 escaped, while 21
were massacred.
With Don Diego de Vargas, and the reconquest of New Mexico in
1691-95, the Franciscans entered the province again. Father San
Antonio was the guardian, but in 1694 he returned to El Paso,
and, with Father Francisco Vargas as guardian, the missions were
re-established. Not only were most of the old missions again in
a prosperous condition, but new ones were established among the
Apaches, Navajos, and other tribes. Towards the middle of the
eighteenth century, petty disputes arose between the friars and
the Bishop of Durango, and the results were unfavourable to the
missions, which at this time numbered from 20 to 25, Father Juan
Mirabal being guardian. In 1760 Bishop Tamarón of Durango
visited the province. From this time on the Franciscan missions
in New Mexico changed, the friars in many cases acted as parish
priests, and their work did not prove so fruitful.
During the last half of the eighteenth century, and during the
last years of Spanish rule (1800-1821), the missions declined
more and more. The Franciscans still remained, and received
salaries from the Government, not as missionaries but as parish
priests. They were under their guardian, but the Bishop of
Durango controlled religious affairs, with a permanent vicar in
New Mexico. The Mexican rule of 1821-1846 was worse than the
Spanish rule, and the missionaries existed only in name. At the
time of the American occupation, in 1846, the missions, as such,
no longer existed.
The missionary work in what is now Arizona was in some cases
that of the New Mexican friars, who from the beginning of their
labours extended their missions among the Zuñi and the Moquis. A
few of these missions, however, had no connexion whatever with
the missionary work of New Mexico. After Niza's exploration in
1540, we know little of the missionary work in Arizona proper,
until 1633, when Fray Francisco Parras, who was almost alone in
his work, was killed at Aguatevi. In 1680 four Franciscans,
attending three missions among the Moquis, were killed during
the New Mexican rebellion of that year. In Northern Mexico,
close to the Arizona line (or, as then known, Primeria Alta),
the Jesuits were doing excellent mission work in 1600-1700. It
was a Jesuit, also, Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, who explored
what is now southern Arizona, in 1687. No missions were
established, however, in Arizona before Father Kino's death in
1711, though churches were built, and many Indians converted.
The work of Father Kino was abandoned after his death, until
1732, when Fathers Felipe Segesser and Juan B. Grashoffer
established the first permanent missions of Arizona at San
Xavier del Bac and San Miguel de Guevavi. In 1750 these two
missions were attacked and plundered by the Pimas, but the
missionaries escaped. In 1752 the missions were reoccupied. A
rivalry between the Franciscan and the Jesuits hindered the
success of the missions.
In 1767, however, the controversy between Jesuits and
Franciscans was ended, and the Jesuits expelled. The Government,
not content with their expulsion, confiscated the mission
property, though the Franciscans were invited to the field. Four
Franciscans arrived in 1768 to renew the missionary work and
found the missions in a deplorable state, but they persuaded the
Government to help in the restoration and to restore the
confiscated property. It is to be observed that these missions
of Arizona, as well as many of those of Sonora in Mexico, were,
until 1873, under the control of the College of Santa Cruz (just
across the Arizona line in Northern Mexico), separated from 1783
to 1791, and united in 1791. The two important Arizona Missions,
San Xavier del Bac and San Miguel de Guevavi, became prosperous,
the former under the famous Franciscan, Father Francisco GarcÈs
from 1768 to 1774. Father GarcÈs laboured continually among the
Indians until he lost his life, in 1781, in his missionary work
near the Colorado River in California. The missions of Arizona
declined after 1800, and in 1828 the Mexican Government ordered
their abandonment. From this time until 1859, when Bishop Lamy
of Santa FÈ sent the Rt. Rev. J.P. Macheboeuf to minister to the
spiritual needs of Arizona, there were no signs of Christianity
in Arizona other than abandoned missions and ruined churches.
PRESENT CONDITIONS (1910)
Pending the full admission of New Mexico to statehood, its
government is still that of a territory of the United States,
regulated by the provisions of the Federal Statutes.
Accordingly, the governor and other executive officers are
appointed, by the executive authority of the United States and
paid by the Federal Treasury; the Legislature (House of
Representatives and Council) is elected by the people of the
territory; the Territorial Judiciary (a chief justice and five
associate justices) is appointed by the President of the United
States for a term of four years, but justices of the peace are
elected for two years.
Education
The educational system of New Mexico dates from 1890 and is
still in process of development. The public-school system is
governed by a territorial Board of Education consisting of seven
members. This board apportions the school funds, prepares
teachers' examinations, selects books, etc. There are also the
usual county and district officers. At present there are
approximately 1000 public schools in New Mexico, with about
50,000 pupils, of whom 20,000 are Spanish and 100 negroes. There
are 70 denominational schools, with 5,000 pupils, and 18 private
schools, with 288 pupils. Furthermore, there were, in 1908, 25
Indian schools with 1933 pupils.
The Catholic schools of the territory number 23, with about 100
teachers and about 1500 pupils (estimated in 1910; 1,212 in
1908). The most important Catholic school in New Mexico is St.
Michael's College at Santa FÈ, founded in 1859 by Bishop J. B.
Lamy. The sisters' charitable institutions (hospitals, etc.) are
state-aided. In 1909 the appropriations for these purposes
amounted to $12,000. The other denominational schools are
distributed as follows: Presbyterian, 25; Congregational, 9;
Methodist, 11; Baptist, 2. The territorial (or state) university
was established in 1889 at Albuquerque. It is supported by
territorial appropriations and land revenues. For the year
1909-10 the income was $40,000. Its teaching force consisted, in
1909-10, of 16 professors, associate professors, and
instructors, and the number of students in attendance was 130.
There are three normal schools, one at Las Vegas, one at El
Rito, and one at Silver City; a military school at Roswell; a
school of mines at Socorro; and a college of agriculture and
mechanic arts at Mesilla Park-the best equipped and most
efficient school in New Mexico, receiving both federal and
territorial aid aggregating $100,000 a year (1909-10), having a
teaching force of 40 professors, assistant professors, and
instructors, and an attendance of 285 students (1909-10). The
combined valuation of the territory's educational institutions
is about $1,000,000, while the annual expenditures aggregate
$275,000.
Religion
In 1850, when New Mexico was organized as a territory of the
United States, it (including, till 1863, Arizona and part of
Colorado) was made a vicariate Apostolic, under the Rt. Rev.
John B. Lamy. In 1853 New Mexico (with exceptions noted below)
was made the Diocese of Santa FÈ, and the vicar Apostolic became
its first bishop. In 1865 this diocese became the Archdiocese of
Santa FÈ, and Bishop Lamy became its first archbishop. The
archdiocese includes all of New Mexico, except Doña Ana, Eddy,
and Grant Counties, which belong to the Diocese of Tuscon. The
present Archbishop of Santa FÈ is the Rt. Rev. John B. Pitaval.
The Catholic population of the territory in 1882 was 126,000; in
1906 it was 121,558 (U. S. Census Bulletin, no. 103, p. 36). But
the figures for 1882 (given by H. H. Bancroft) must include the
Catholic population of Arizona and probably also of Colorado. In
1906 Catholics were more than 88 percent of the church
membership of the territory, which was 137,009, distributed as
follows:--
+ Roman Catholics. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . .
.. . . .. . . .. . . .121,558
+ Methodists. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. .
. .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . ..6,560
+ Presbyterians. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . .
.. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . . ..2,935
+ Baptists. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . .
.. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . . .2,403
+ Disciples, or Christians. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. .
. .. . . .. . . .. . . .1,092
+ Protestant Episcopalians. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. .
. .. . . .. . . .. . . ..869
+ Unclassified. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . ..
. . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .1,592
+ Total. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . ..
. . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . . .137,009
At present (1910) the total Catholic population of New Mexico
may be estimated at not less than 130,000, about 120,000 being
of Spanish descent. No definite statistics are available on this
last point. The large Catholic population of New Mexico is due
to having been colonized by the Spaniards, whose first thought
on founding a colony was to build churches and establish
missions. The recent Catholic immigration has been from the
Middle West, and this is largely Irish.
Catholics distinguished in Public Life
The fact that until about the year 1890 the population of the
territory was mostly Spanish, and therefore Catholic, is the
reason why most of the men who have figured prominently in the
history of New Mexico have been Catholic Spaniards. Among the
more prominent may be mentioned: Donaciano Vigil, military
governor, 1878-48; Miguel A. Otero, territorial secretary, 1861;
delegates to the Federal Congress, JosÈ M. Gallegos, 1853-54;
Miguel A. Otero, 1855-60; Francisco Perea, 1863-64; JosÈ F.
Chaves, 1865-70, JosÈ M. Gallegos, 1871-72; Trinidad Romero,
1877-78; Mariano S. Otero, 1879-90; Tranquilino Luna 1881-82;
Francisco A. Manzanares, 1883-4. The treasurers and auditors
from 1863 to 1886 were all, with but one exception, Catholic
Spaniards.
Legislation affecting Religion
(1) Absolute freedom of worship is guaranteed by the Organic Act
constituting the territory, and by statute preference to any
religious denomination is forbidden. (2) Horse-racing and
cock-fighting on Sunday are forbidden; labour, except works of
necessity, charity, or mercy, prohibited, and the offence is
punishable by a fine of from $5 to $15. (3) No religious test
shall be required as a qualification to any office or public
trust in this territory. Oaths are administered in the usual
fashion, but an affirmation may be used instead when the
individual has conscientious scruples against taking an oath.
(4) No statutory enactment punishing blasphemy or profanity has
ever been passed in the territory. (5) It is customary to open
the sessions of the Legislature with an invocation of the
Supreme Being, but there is no statutory authority either for or
against this ceremony. Until the present time (1910) this
function has always been discharged by a Catholic priest. (6)
Christmas is the only religious festival observed as a legal
holiday in New Mexico. New Year's Day is also a legal holiday,
but Good Friday, Ash Wednesday, All Souls' Day, etc., are not
recognized. (7) There has been no decision in the courts of New
Mexico regarding the seal of confession, but it is to be
presumed that, in the absence of any statutory provision
covering the point, the courts of the territory would follow the
general rule: that confession to a priest is a confidential
communication and therefore inviolable. (8) Churches are, in the
contemplation of the laws of New Mexico, in the category of
charitable institutions. (9) No religious or charitable
institution is permitted to hold more than $50,000 worth of
property; any property acquired or held contrary to the above
prohibition shall be forfeited and escheat to the United States.
The property of religious institutions is exempt from taxation
when it is being used and devoted exclusively to its appropriate
objects, and not used with a view to pecuniary profit. The
clergy are exempt from jury and military service. (10) Marriage
may be either by religious or by civil ceremony. The male must
be eighteen years of age, and the female fifteen, for marriage
with the parents' consent; after the male is twenty-one and the
female eighteen they may marry regardless of parents' consent.
Marriages between first cousins, uncles, aunts, nieces and
nephews, half-brothers and sisters, grandparent and
grandchildren, are declared incestuous and absolutely void. (11)
Education in the public schools must be non-sectarian. (12) No
charitable or religious bequests are recognized unless made in
writing duly attested by the lawful number of witnesses. (13)
There are no restrictions as to cemeteries other than that they
must not be near running streams. (14) Divorce may be obtained
for cruelty, adultery, desertion, and for almost every ground
recognized as sufficient in any state of the Union. The party
seeking divorce must have been a bona fide resident of the
territory for more than a year prior to the date of filing the
action. Service on the defendant must be personal, if the
defendant is within the territory, but may be by publication, if
the whereabouts of the defendant are unknown. Trials of divorce
are without a jury.
BANCROFT, H. H., History of New Mexico and Arizona (San
Francisco, 1888); Biennial Report of the State Superintendent of
Public Instruction of New Mexico (Santa FÈ, 1908); BLACKMAR,
Spanish Institutions in the Southwest (Baltimore, 1891);
Compiled Laws of New Mexico (Santa FÈ, 1897 and 1908); Catholic
Directory for 1910; U. S. CENSUS BUREAU, Bulletin no. 103
(Washington, 1906); ENGELHARDT, The Missions and Missionaries of
California, I (San Francisco, 1908); II (San Francisco, 1910);
VILLAGRÁ, Historia de la Nueva MÈjico (Alcalá de Henares, 1610;
Mexico, 1900); Illustrated history of New Mexico (Los Angeles,
1907); COUES, On the Trail of a Spanish Pioneer (tr. of the
diary of Father Francisco GarcÈs) (New York, 1900); Report of
the Governor of New Mexico to the Secretary of the Interior
(Washington, 1909); SHEA, History of the Catholic Church in the
United States (New York, 1892); Register of the University of
New Mexico, 1909-10 (Albuquerque, 1910); Register of the New
Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (Santa FÈ,
1910); PINO, Noticias históricas y estadísticas sobre la antiqua
provincia del Neuva MÈjico (Cadiz, 1812; Mexico, 1839, 1849);
The Journey of Antiono de Vargas and Conquest of New Mexico in
1691-3 (MS. in Library of the New Mexico Historical Society,
Santa FÈ); Publications of the New Mexico Historical Society
(Santa FÈ, 1898-1910).
AURELIO M. ESPINOSA
New Norcia
New Norcia
A Benedictine abbey in Western Australia, founded on 1 March,
1846, by a Spanish Benedictine, Rudesindus Salvado, for the
christianizing of the Australian aborigines. It is situated
eighty-two miles from Perth, the state capital; its territory is
bounded on the south and east by the Diocese of Perth, and on
the north by the Diocese of Geraldton. This mission at first had
no territory. Its saintly founder, like the Baptist of old,
lived in the wilderness, leading the same nomadic life as the
savages whom he had come to lead out of darkness. His food was
of the most variable character, consisting of wild roots dug out
of the earth by the spears of his swarthy neophytes, with
lizards, iguanas, even worms in times of distress, or, when
fortunate in the chase, with the native kangaroo. After three
years of unparalleled hardships amongst this cannibal race,
Salvado came to the conclusion that they were capable of
Christianity. Assisted by some friends, he started for Rome in
1849 to procure auxiliaries and money to assist him in
prosecuting his work of civilization. While in Rome he was
appointed Bishop of Port Victoria in Northern Australia, being
consecrated on 15 August, 1849. Before he left Rome, all his
people of Port Victoria had abandoned the diocese for the
goldfields. Bishop Salvado thereupon implored the pope to permit
him to return to his beloved Australian blacks. He set out for
Spain, and obtained there monetary assistance and over forty
young volunteers. All these afterwards became Benedictines. They
landed in Australia in charge of their bishop on 15 August,
1852.
Bishop Salvado, with his band of willing workers, commenced
operations forthwith. They cleared land for the plough, and
introduced the natives to habits of industry. They built a large
monastery, schools and orphanages for the young, cottages for
the married, flour-mills to grind their wheat, etc. An important
village soon sprang up, in which many natives were fed, clothed,
and made good Christians. On 12 March, 1867, Pius IX made New
Norcia an abbey nullius and a prefecture Apostolic with
jurisdiction over a territory of 16 square miles, the extent of
Bishop Salvado's jurisdiction until his death in Rome on 29
December, 1900, in the eighty-seventh year of his age and the
fifty-first of his episcopate. Father Fulgentius Torres, O.S.B.,
was elected Abbot of New Norcia in succession to Bishop Salvado
on 2 October, 1902. The new abbot found it necessary to frame a
new policy for his mission. Rapid changes were setting in;
agricultural settlers were taking up the land, driving out the
sheep and cattle lords, and absorbing the labour of the
civilized natives. The mission had now to provide for the
spiritual wants of the white population, and Abbot Torres boldly
faced the situation by entering upon a large scheme of
improvements in and around the monastery. With the approbation
of the Holy See, he had the boundaries of the abbey extended to
embrace the country between 30º and 31º 20' S. latitude, and
between the sea and 120º E. longitude -- a territory of over
30,000 sq. miles (nearly as large as Ireland or the State of
Maine). Abbot Torres brought out many priests and young
ecclesiastics for the monastery and parochial work, and built
churches in the more settled districts of his new territory.
Since Abbot Torres became superior in 1901, the number of
churches has increased from one to ten. To foster higher
education, Abbot Torres has erected a magnificent convent and
ladies' college, and has in hand a similar institution for boys.
He has already completed a large and commodious girls'
orphanage. All these works have been accomplished at the expense
of the Benedictine community. Abbot Torres has not confined his
energies solely to New Norcia. He founded the "Drysdale River
Aborigines Mission", 2000 miles away, in the extreme north-west
of Australia, an unexplored land inhabited only by the most
treacherous savages. This mission was opened on 12 July, 1908,
with a party of fifteen in charge of two priests.
Abbot Torres was consecrated Bishop in Rome on 22 May, 1910. On
the fourth of the same month, by a Decree of the Propaganda, he
was appointed administrator Apostolic of Kimberley, and had the
"Drysdale Mission" erected into an abbey nullius. He has now
under his jurisdiction a territory of 174,000 sq. miles -- an
area nearly as large as five important states of the United
States -- viz., Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, W. Virginia, and
Maine. The present position (1910) of the mission is: churches,
10; priests, 17 (secular, 7); monastic students, 9; other
religious, 33; nuns, 18; high school, 1; primary schools, 4;
charitable institutions, 2; children attending Catholic schools,
350; Catholic population, 3000.
JAMES FLOOD
New Orleans
New Orleans
ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW ORLEANS (NOVÆ AURELIÆ).
Erected 25 April, 1793, as the Diocese of Saint Louis of New
Orleans; raised to its present rank and title 19 July, 1850. Its
original territory comprised the ancient Louisiana purchase and
East and West Florida, being bounded on the north by the
Canadian line, on the west by the Rocky Mountains and the Rio
Perdito, on the east by the Diocese of Baltimore, and on the
south by the Diocese of Linares and the Archdiocese of Durango.
The present boundaries include the State of Louisiana, between
the twenty-ninth and thirty-first degree of north latitude, an
area of 23,208 square miles. The entire territory of Louisiana
has undergone a series of changes which divides its history into
four distinct periods.
I. EARLY COLONIAL PERIOD
The discoverers and pioneers, De Soto, Iberville, La Salle,
Bienville, were accompanied by missionaries in their expeditions
through the Louisiana Purchase, and in the toilsome beginnings
of the first feeble settlements, which were simply military
posts, the Cross blazed the way. From the beginning of its
history, Louisiana had been placed under the Bishop of Quebec;
in 1696 the priests of the seminary of Quebec petitioned the
second Bishop of Quebec for authority to establish missions in
the west, investing the superior sent out by the seminary with
the powers of vicar-general. The field for which they obtained
this authority (1 May, 1698), was on both banks of the
Mississippi and its tributaries. They proposed to plant their
first mission among the Tamarois, but when this became known,
the Jesuits claimed that tribe as one already under their care;
they received the new missionaries with personal cordiality, but
felt keenly the official action of Bishop St-Vallier, in what
they regarded as an intrusion. Fathers Jolliet de Montigny,
Antoine Davion, and François Busion de Saint-Cosme were the
missionaries sent to found the new missions in the Mississippi
Valley. In 1699 Iberville, who had sailed from France, with his
two brothers Bienville and Sauvolle, and Father Du Ru, S. J.,
coming up the estuary of the Mississippi, found Father Montigny
among the Tensus Indians. Iberville left Sauvolle in command of
the little fort at Biloxi, the first permanent settlement in
Louisiana. Father Bordenave was its first chaplain, thus
beginning a long line of zealous parish priests in Louisiana.
In 1703, Bishop St-Vallier proposed to erect Mobile into a
parish, and to annex it in perpetuity to the seminary; the
seminary agreed, and the Parish of Mobile was erected 20 July,
1703; and united to the Seminary of Foreign Missions of Paris
and Quebec. Father Roulleaux de la Vente, of the Diocese of
Bayeaux, was appointed parish priest and Father Huve his
assistant. The Biloxi settlement being difficulty of access from
the sea, Bienville thought it unsuitable for the headquarters of
the province. In 1718, taking with him fifty men, he selected
Tchoutchouma, the present site of New Orleans, about 110 miles
from the mouth of the Mississippi, where there was a deserted
Indian village. Bienville directed his men to clear the grounds
and erect buildings. The city was laid out according to the
plans of the Chevalier Le Blond de La Tour, chief engineer of
the colony, the plans including a parish church, which Bienville
decided to dedicate under the invocation of St. Louis. The old
St. Louis cathedral stands today on the site of this first
parish church, and the presbytery in Cathedral Alley is the site
of the first modest clergy house. Bienville called the city New
Orleans after the Duc d'Orléans, and the whole territory
Louisiana, or New France.
In August, 1717, the Duc d'Orléans, as Regent of France, issued
letters patent establishing a joint-stock company to be called
"The Company of the West", to which Louisiana was transferred.
The company was obliged to build churches at its own expense
wherever it should establish settlements; also to maintain the
necessary number of duly approved priests to preach, perform
Divine service and administer the sacraments under the authority
of the Bishop of Quebec. Bienville experienced much opposition
from the Company of the West in his attempt to remove the colony
from Biloxi. In 1721 Fr. Francis-Xavier de Charlevoix, S. J.,
one of the first historians of Louisiana, made a tour of New
France from the Lakes to the Mississippi, visiting New Orleans,
which he describes as "a little village of about one hundred
cabins dotted here and there, a large wooden warehouse in which
I said Mass, a chapel in course of construction and two
storehouses". But under Bienville's direction the city soon took
shape, and, with the consent of the company, the colony was
moved to this site in 1723. Father Charlevoix reported on the
great spiritual destitution of the province occasioned by the
missions being scattered so far apart and the scarcity of
priests, and this compelled the council of the company to make
efforts to improve conditions. Accordingly, the company applied
to the Bishop of Quebec, and on 16 May, 1722, Louisiana was
divided into three ecclesiastical sections. The district north
of the Ohio was entrusted to the Society of Jesus and the
Priests of the Foreign Missions of Paris and Quebec; that
between the Mississippi and the Rio Perdito, to the Discalced
Carmelite Fathers with headquarters at Mobile. The Carmelites
were recalled, not long after, and their district was given to
to Capuchins.
A different arrangement was made for the Indian and new French
settlements on the lower Mississippi. Because of the remoteness
of this district from Quebec, Father Louis-François Duplessis de
Mornay, a Capuchin of Meudon, was consecrated, at Bishop
St-Vallier's request, coadjutor Bishop of Quebec, 22 April,
1714. Bishop St-Vallier appointed him vicar-general for
Louisiana, but he never came to America, although he eventually
succeeded to the See of Quebec. When the Company of the West
applied to him for priests for the lower Mississippi Valley he
offered the more populous field of colonists to the Capuchin
Fathers of the province of Champaigne, who, however, did not
take any immediate steps, and it was not until 1720 that any of
the order came to Louisiana. Father Jean-Matthieu de Saint-Anne
is the first whose name is recorded. He signs himself in 1720 in
the register of the parish of New Orleans. The last entry of the
secular clergy in Mobile is that of Rev. Alexander Huve, 13
January, 1721. The Capuchins came directly from France and
consequently found application to the Bishop of Quebec long and
tedious; Father Matthieu therefore applied to Rome for special
power for fifteen missions under his charge, representing that
the great distance from the Bishop of Quebec made it practically
impossible for him to apply to the Bishop. A brief was really
issued (Michael a Tugio, "Bullarium Ord. FF. Minor. S.P.
Francisci Capucinorum", Fol. 1740-52; BLI., pp. 322, 323), and
Father Matthieu seems to have assumed that it exempted him from
episcopal jurisdiction, for, on 14 March, 1723, he signs the
register "Père Matthieu, Vicaire Apostolique et Curé de la
Mobile".
In 1722 Bishop Mornay entrusted the spiritual jurisdiction of
the Indians to the Jesuits, who were to establish missions in
all parts of Louisiana with residence at New Orleans, but were
not to exercise any ecclesiastical function there without the
consent of the Capuchins, though they were to minister to the
French in the Illinois District, with the Priests of the Foreign
Missions, where the superior of each body was a vicar-general,
just as the Capuchin superior was at New Orleans. In the spring
of 1723 Father Raphael du Luxembourg arrived to assume his
duties as superior of the Capuchin Mission in Louisiana. It was
a difficult task that the Capuchins had assumed. Their
congregations were scattered over a large area; there was much
poverty, suffering, and ignorance of religion. Father Raphael,
in the cathedral archives, says that when he landed in New
Orleans he could hardly secure a room for himself and his
brethren to occupy pending the rebuilding of the presbytery,
much less one to convert into a chapel; for the population
seemed indifferent to all that savoured of religion. There were
less than thirty persons at Mass on Sundays; yet, undismayed,
the missionaries set to work and saw their zeal rewarded with a
greater reverence for religion and more faithful attendance at
church. In 1725 New Orleans had become an important settlement,
the Capuchins having a flock of six hundred families. Mobile had
declined to sixty families, the Apache Indians (Catholic)
numbered sixty families. There were six at Balize, two hundred
at St. Charles or Les Allemandes, one hundred at Point Coupée,
six at Natchez, fifty at Natchitoches and the other missions
which are not named in the "Bullarium Capucinorum" (Vol. VIII,
p. 330).
The founder of the Jesuit Mission in New Orleans was Father
Nicolas-Ignatius de Beaubois, who was appointed vicar-general
for his district. He visited New Orleans and returned to France
to obtain Fathers of the Society for his mission. Being also
commissioned by Bienville to obtain sisters of some order to
assume charge of a hospital and school, he applied to the
Ursulines of Rouen, who accepted the call. The royal patent
authorizing the Ursulines to found a convent in Louisiana was
issued 18 September, 1726. Mother Mary Trancepain of St.
Augustine, with seven professed nuns from Rouen, Le Havre,
Vannes, Ploermel, Hennebon, and Elboeuf, a novice, Madeline
Hauchard, and two seculars, met at the infirmary at Hennebon on
12 January, 1727, and, accompanied by Fathers Tartarin and
Doutreleau, set sail for Louisiana. They reached New Orleans on
6 August to open the first convent for women within the present
limits of the United States of America. As the convent was not
ready for their reception, the governor gave up his own
residence to them. The history of the Ursulines from their
departure from Rouen through a period of thirty years in
Louisiana, is told by Sister Madeline Hauchard in a diary still
preserved in the Ursuline convent in New Orleans, and which
forms, with Father Charlevoix's history, the principal record of
those early days. On 7 August, 1727, the Ursulines began in
Louisiana the work which has since continued without
interruption. They opened a hospital for the care of the sick
and a school for poor children, also an academy which is now the
oldest educational institution for women in the United States.
The convent in which the Ursulines then took up their abode
still stands, the oldest conventual structure in the United
States and the oldest building within the limits of the
Louisiana Purchase. In 1824 the Ursulines removed to the lower
portion of the city, and the old convent became first the
episcopal residence and then the diocesan chancery.
Meanwhile Father Mathurin le Petit, S.J., established a mission
among the Chocktaws; Father Du Poisson among the Arkansas;
Father Doutreleau, on the Wabash; Fathers Tartarin and Le
Boulenger, at Kaskaskia; Father Guymonneau among the
Metchogameas; Father Souel, among the Yazoos; Father Baudouin,
among the Chickasaws. The Natchez Indians, provoked by the
tyranny and rapacity of Chopart, the French commandant, in 1729
nearly destroyed all these missions. Father Du Poisson and
Father Souel were killed by the Indians. As an instance of the
faith implanted in the Iroquois about this time there was
received into the Ursuline order at New Orleans, Mary Turpin,
daughter of a Canadian Father and an Illinois mother. She died a
professed nun in 1761, at the age of fifty-two, with the
distinction of being the first American-born nun in this
country. From the beginning of the colony at Biloxi the
immigration of women had been small. Bienville made constant
appeals to the mother country to send honest wives and mothers.
From time to time ships freighted with girls would arrive; they
came over in charge of the Grey Nuns of Canada and a priest, and
were sent by the king to be married to the colonists. The Bishop
of Quebec was also charged with the duty of sending out young
women who were known to be good and virtuous. As a proof of her
respectability, each girl was furnished by the bishop with a
curiously wrought casket; they are known in Louisiana history as
"casket girls". Each band of girls, on arriving at New Orleans,
was confided to the care of the Ursulines until they were
married to colonists able to provide for their support. Many of
the best families of the state are proud to trace their descent
from "casket girls".
The city was growing and developing; a better class of immigrant
was pouring in, and Father Charlevoix, on his visit in 1728,
wrote to the Duchesse de Lesdiguières: "My hopes, I think, are
well founded that this wild and desert place, which the reeds
and trees still cover, will be one day, and that not far
distant, a city of opulence, and the metropolis of a rich
colony." His words were prophetic; New Orleans was fast
developing, and early chronicles say that it suggested the
splendours of Paris. There was a governor with a military staff,
bringing to the city the manners and splendour of the Court of
Versailles, and the manners and usages of the mother country
stamped on Louisiana life characteristics in marked contrast to
the life of any other colony. The Jesuit Fathers of New Orleans
had no parochial residence, but directed the Ursulines, and had
charge of their private chapel and a plantation where, in 1751,
they introduced into Louisiana the culture of the sugar-cane,
the orange, and the fig. The Capuchins established missions
wherever they could. Bishop St-Vallier had been succeeded by
Bishop de Mournay, who never went to Quebec, but resigned the
see, after five years. His successor, Henri-Marie Du Breuil de
Pontbriand, appointed Father de Beaubois, S.J., his
vicar-general in Louisiana. The Capuchin Fathers refused to
recognize Father de Beaubois's authority, claiming, under an
agreement of the Company of the West with the coadjutor bishop,
de Mornay, that the superior of the Capuchins was, in
perpetuity, vicar-general of the province, and that the bishop
could appoint no other. Succeeding bishops of Quebec declared,
however, that they could not, as bishops, admit that the assent
of a coadjutor and vicar-general to an agreement with a trading
company had forever deprived every bishop of Quebec to act as
freely in Louisiana as in any other part of his diocese. This
incident gave rise to some friction between the two orders which
has been spoken of derisively by Louisiana historians, notably
by Gayarré, as "The War of the Capuchins and the Jesuits". The
archives of the diocese, as also the records of the Capuchins in
Louisiana, show that it was simply a question of jurisdiction,
which gave rise to a discussion so petty as to be unworthy of
notice. Historians exaggerate this beyond all importance, while
failing to chronicle the shameful spoilation of the Jesuits by
the French Government, which suddenly settled the question
forever.
In 1761 the Parliaments of several provinces of France had
condemned the Jesuits, and measures were taken against them in
the kingdom. They were expelled from Paris, and the Superior
Council of Louisiana, following the example, on 9 July, 1763,
just ten years before the order was suppressed by Clement XIV,
passed an act suppressing the Jesuits throughout the province,
declaring them dangerous to royal authority, to the rights of
the bishops, and to the public safety. The Jesuits were charged
with neglecting their mission, with having developed their
plantation, and with having usurped the office of vicar-general.
To the first charge the record of their labours was sufficient
refutation; to the second, it was assuredly to the credit of the
Jesuits that they made their plantation so productive as to
maintain their missionaries; to the third the actions of the
bishops of Quebec in appointing the vicar-general and that of
the Superior council itself in sustaining him was the answer.
Nevertheless, the unjust decree was carried out, the Jesuits'
property was confiscated, and they were forbidden to use the
name of their Society or to wear their habit. Their property was
sold for $180,000. All their chapels were levelled to the
ground, leaving exposed even the vaults where the dead were
interred. The Jesuits were ordered to give up their missions, to
return to New Orleans and to leave on the first vessel sailing
for France. The Capuchins forgetting their differences
interfered on behalf of the Jesuits; and finally their petitions
unavailing went to the river bank to receive the returning
Jesuits, offered them a home alongside their own, and in every
way showed their disapproval of the Council's action. The
Jesuits deeply grateful left the Capuchins all the books they
had been able to save from the spoilation.
Father Boudoin, S.J., the benefactor of the colony, who had
introduced the culture of sugar-cane and oranges from San
Domingo, and figs from Provence, a man to whom the people owed
much and to whom Louisiana to-day owes so much of its
prosperity, alone remained. He was now seventy-two years old and
had spent thirty-five in the colony. He was broken in health and
too ill to leave his room. They dragged him through the streets
when prominent citizens intervened and one wealthy planter,
âtienne de Boré, who had first succeeded in the granulation of
sugar, defied the authorities and took Father Boudoin to his
home and sheltered him until his death in 1766. The most
monstrous part of the order of expulsion was that, not only were
the chapels of the Jesuits in lower Louisiana -- many of which
were the only places where Catholics, whites and Indians, and
negroes, could worship God -- levelled to the ground, but the
Council carried out the decree even in the Illinois district
which had been ceded to the King of England and which was no
longer subject to France or Louisiana. They ordered even the
vestments and plate to be delivered to the king's attorney. Thus
was a vast territory left destitute of priests and altars, and
the growth of the Church retarded for many years. Of the ten
Capuchins left to administer this immense territory, five were
retained in New Orleans; the remainder were scattered over
various missions. It is interesting to note that the only native
Louisiana priest at this time, and the first to enter the holy
priesthood, Rev. Bernard Viel, born in New Orleans 1 October,
1736, was among the Jesuits expelled from the colony. He died in
France, 1821. The inhabitants of New Orleans then numbered four
thousand.
II. SPANISH PERIOD
In 1763 Louisiana was ceded to Spain, and Antonia Ulloa was sent
over to take possession. The colonists were bitterly opposed to
the cession, and finally rose in arms against the governor,
giving him three days in which to leave the town. (See
LOUISIANA.) The Spanish Government resolved to punish the
parties which had so insulted its representative, Don Ulloa, and
sent Alexander O'Reilly to assume the office of governor.
Lafrénière, President of the Council, who chiefly instigated the
passing of the decree against the Jesuits from the colony, and
the rebellion against the Government, was tried by court martial
and with six of his partners in his scheme, was shot in the
Palace d'Armes. O'Reilly reorganized the province after the
Spanish model. The oath taken by the officials shows that the
doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was then officially
recognized in the Spanish dominions. "I __________ appointed
__________ swear before God . . . to maintain . . . the mystery
of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, the Virgin Mary."
The change of government affected ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
The Province of Louisiana passed under the jurisdiction of the
Bishop of Santiago de Cuba, the Right Rev. James José de
Echeverría, and Spanish Capuchins began to fill the places of
their French brethren. Contradictory reports reached the new
bishop about conditions in Louisiana and he sent Father Cirilo
de Barcelona with four Spanish Capuchins to New Orleans. These
priests were Fathers Francisco, Angel de Revillagades, Louis de
Quitanilla, and Aleman. They reached New Orleans, 19 July, 1773.
The genial ways of the French brethren seemed scandalous to the
stern Spanish disciplinarian, and he informed the Bishop of Cuba
concerning what he considered "lax methods of conduct and
administration". Governor Unzaga, however, interfered on behalf
of the French Capuchins, and wrote to the bishop censuring the
Spanish friars. This offended the bishop and both referred the
matter to the Spanish Court. The Government expressed no
opinion, but advised the prelate and governor to compromise, and
so preserve harmony between the civil and ecclesiastical
authorities. Some Louisiana historians, Charles Gayarré among
others, speak of the depravity of the clergy of that period.
These charges are not borne out by contemporary testimony; the
archives of the cathedral witness that the clergy performed
their work faithfully. These charges as a rule sprang from
monastic prejudices or secular antipathies. One of the first
acts of Father Cirilo as pastor of the St. Louis Cathedral was
to have the catechism printed in both French and Spanish.
The Bishop of Santiago de Cuba resolved to remedy the deplorable
conditions in Louisiana, where confirmation had never been
administered. In view of his inability to visit this distant
portion of his diocese, he asked for the appointment of an
auxiliary bishop, who would take up his abode in New Orleans,
and thence visit the missions on the Mississippi as well as
those in Mobile, Pensacola, and St. Augustine. The Holy See
appointed Father Cirilo de Barcelona titular bishop of Tricali
and auxiliary of Santiago. He was consecrated in Cuba in 1781
and proceeded to New Orleans where for the first time the people
enjoyed the presence of a bishop. A saintly man, he infused new
life into the province. The whole of Louisiana and the Floridas
were under his jurisdiction. According to official records of
the Church in Louisiana in 1785, the church of St. Louis, New
Orleans, has a parish priest, four assistants; and there was a
resident priest at each of the following points: Terre aux
Boeufs, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. James, Ascension,
St. Gabriel's at Iberville, Point Coupee, Attakapas, Opelousas,
Natchitoches, Natchez, St. Louis, St. Genevieve, and at Bernard
or Manchac (now Galveston). On 25 November, 1785, Bishop Cirilo
appointed as parish priest of New Orleans Rev. Antonio Ildefonso
Morenory Arze de Sedella, one of the six Capuchins who had come
to the colony in 1779. Father Antonio (popularly known as "Père
Antoine") was destined to exert a remarkable influence in the
colony. Few priests have been more assailed by historians, but a
careful comparison of the ancient records of the cathedral with
the traditions that cluster about his memory show that he did
not deserve on the one hand the indignities which Gayarré and
Shea heap upon him, nor yet the excessive honours with which
tradition had crowned him. From the cathedral archives it has
been proven that he was simply an earnest priest striving to do
what he thought his duty amid many difficulties.
In 1787 a number of unfortunate Acadians came at the expense of
the King of France and settled near Plaquemines, Terre aux
Boeufs, Bayou Lafourche, Attakapas, and Opelousas, adding to the
already thrifty colony. They brought with them the precious
register of St. Charles aux Mines in Acadia extending from 1689
to 1749 only six years before their cruel deportation. They were
deposited for safe keeping with the priest of St. Gabriel at
Iberville and are now in the diocesan archives. St. Augustine
being returned to Spain by the treaty of peace of 1783, the King
of Spain made efforts to provide for the future of Catholicism
in that ancient province. As many English people had settled
there and in West Florida, notably at Baton Rouge and Natchez,
Charles III applied to the Irish College for priests to attend
to the English-speaking population. Accordingly Rev. Michael
O'Reilly and Reverend Thomas Hasset were sent to Florida.
Catholic worship was restored, the city at once resuming its own
old aspect. Rev. William Savage, a clergyman of great repute,
Rev. Michael Lamport, Rev. Gregory White, Rev. Constantine
Makenna, Father Joseph Denis, and a Franciscan with six fathers
of his order, were sent to labour in Louisiana. They were
distributed through the Natchez and Baton Rouge districts, and
were the first Irish priests to come to Louisiana, the pioneers
of a long and noble line to whom this archdiocese owes much. In
1787 the Holy See divided the Diocese of Santiago de Cuba,
erected the bishopric of St. Christopher of Havana, Louisiana,
and the Floridas, with the Right Rev. Joseph de Trespalacios of
Porto Rico as bishop, and the Right Rev. Cirilo de Barcelona as
auxiliary, with the special direction of Louisiana and the two
Floridas. Louisiana thus formed a part of the Diocese of Havana.
Near Fort Natchez the site for a church was purchased on April
11, 1788. The earliest incumbent of whom any record was kept was
Father Francis Lennan. Most of the people of Natchez were
English Protestants or Americans, who had sided with England.
They enjoyed absolute religious freedom, no attempt to
proselytize was ever made. On Good Friday, 21 March, 1788, New
Orleans was swept by a conflagration in which nine hundred
buildings, including the parish church, with the adjoining
convent of the Capuchins, the house of Bishop Cirilo and the
Spanish School were reduced to ashes. From the ruins of the old
irregularly built French City rose the stately Spanish City, old
New Orleans, practically unchanged as it exists to-day. Foremost
among the public-spirited men of that time was Don Andreas
Almonaster y Roxas, of a noble Andalusian family and royal
standard bearer for the colony. He had made a great fortune in
New Orleans, and at a cost of $50,000 he built and gave to the
city the St. Louis Cathedral. He rebuilt the house for the use
of the clergy and the charity hospital at a cost of $114,000. He
also rebuilt the town hall and the Cabildo, the buildings on
either side of the cathedral, the hospital, the boys' school, a
chapel for the Ursulines, and founded the Leper Hospital.
Meanwhile rapid assimilation had gone on in Louisiana. Americans
began to make their homes in New Orleans and in 1791 the
insurrection of San Domingo drove there many hundreds of wealthy
noble refugees. The archives of the New Orleans Diocese show
that the King of Spain petitioned Pius VI on 20 May, 1790, to
erect Louisiana and the Floridas into a separate see, and on
April 9, 1793, a decree for the dismemberment of the Diocese of
Havana, Louisiana, and the Provinces of East and West Florida
was issued. It provided for the erection of the See of St. Louis
of New Orleans, which was to include all the Louisiana Province
and the Provinces of East and West Florida. The Bishops of
Mexico, Agalopi, Michoacan and Caracas were to contribute, pro
rata, a fund for the support of the Bishop of New Orleans, until
such time as the see would be self-sustaining. The decree left
the choice of a bishop for a new see to the King of Spain, and
he on 25 April, 1793, wrote to Bishop Cirilo relieving him of
his office of auxiliary, and directing him to return immediately
to Catalonia with a salary of one thousand dollars a year, which
the Bishop of Havana was to contribute. Bishop Cirilo returned
to Havana and seems to have resided with the Hospital Friars,
while endeavouring to obtain his salary, so that he might return
to Europe. It is not known where Bishop Cirilo died in poverty
and humiliation.
The Right Rev. Luis Peñalver y Cárdenas was appointed first
bishop of the new See of St. Louis of New Orleans. He was a
native of Havana, born 3 April, 1719, and had been educated by
the Jesuits of his native city, receiving his degree in the
university in 1771. He was a priest of irreproachable character,
and a skillful director of souls. He was consecrated in the
Cathedral of Havana in 1793. The St. Louis parish church, now
raised to the dignity of a cathedral, was dedicated 23 December,
1794. A letter from the king, 14 August, 1794, decreed that its
donor, Don Almonaster, was authorized to occupy the most
prominent seat in the church, second only to that of the
viceregal patron, the intendant of the province, and to receive
the kiss of peace during the Mass. Don Almonaster died in 1798
and was buried under the altar of the Sacred Heart.
Bishop Peñalver arrived in New Orleans, 17 July, 1795. In a
report to the king and the Holy See he bewailed the indifference
he found as to the practice of religious duties. He condemned
the laxity of morals among the men, and the universal practice
of concubinage among the slaves. The invasion of many persons
not of the faith, and the toleration of the Government in
admitting all classes of adventurers for purposes of trade, had
brought about disrespect for religion. He deplored the
establishment of trading posts and of a lodge of French
Freemasons, which counted among its members city officials,
officers of the garrison, merchants and foreigners. He believed
the people clung to their French traditions. He said that the
King of Spain possessed "their bodies but not their souls". He
declared that "even the Ursuline nuns, from whom good results
were obtained in the education of girls, were so decidedly
French in their inclination that they refused to admit Spanish
women who wished to become members of their order, and many were
in tears because they were obliged to read spiritual exercises
in Spanish books". It was a gloomy picture he presented, but he
set faithfully to work, and on 21 December, 1795, called a
synod, the first and only one held in the diocese of colonial
New Orleans. He also issued a letter of instruction to the
clergy deploring the fact that many of his flock were more than
five hundred leagues away, and how impossible it was to repair
at one and the same time to all. He enjoined the pastors to walk
in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, and in all things to fulfill
their duties. This letter of instruction bearing his signature
is preserved in the archives of the diocese, and, with the call
for the synod, forms the only documents signed by the first
Bishop of New Orleans.
Bishop Peñalver everywhere showed himself active in the cause of
educational progress and was a generous benefactor of the poor.
He was promoted to the See of Guatemala, 20 July, 1801. Before
his departure he appointed, as vicars-general, Rev. Thomas Canon
Hasset and Rev. Patrick Walsh, who became officially recognized
as "Governors of the Diocese".
Territorially from this ancient see have been erected the
Archbishoprics of St. Louis, Cincinnati, St. Paul, Dubuque, and
Chicago, and the bishoprics of Alexandria, Mobile, Natchez,
Galveston, San Antonio, Little Rock, St. Augustine, Kansas City,
St. Joseph, Davenport, Cheyenne, Dallas, Winona, Duluth,
Concordia, Omaha, Sioux Falls, Oklahoma, St. Cloud, Bismark, and
Cleveland.
Right Rev. Francis Porro y Peinade, a Franciscan of the Convent
of the Holy Apostles, Rome, was appointed to succeed Bishop
Peñalver. But he never took possession of the see. Some old
chronicles in Louisiana say that he was never consecrated;
others that he was, and died on the eve of leaving Rome. Bishop
Portier (Spalding's "Life of Bishop Flaget"), says that he was
translated to the See of Terrazona. The See of New Orleans
remained vacant many years after the departure of bishop
Peñalver.
In 1798 the Duc d'Orléans (afterwards King Luis-Philippe of
France) with his two brothers, the Duc de Montpensier and the
Count de Beaujolais, visited New Orleans. They were received
with honour, and when Louis-Philippe became King of France he
remembered many of those who had entertained him when in exile,
and was generous to the Church in the old French province.
III. FRENCH AND AMERICAN PERIOD
By the Treaty of San Ildefonse, the Spanish King on 1 October,
1800, engaged to retrocede Louisiana to the French Republic six
months after certain conditions and stipulations had been
executed on the part of France, and the Holy See deferred the
appointment of a bishop.
On 30 April, 1803, without waiting for the actual transfer of
the province, Napoleon Bonaparte by the Treaty of Paris sold
Louisiana to the United States. De Laussat, the French
Commissioner, had reached New Orleans on 26 March, 1803, to take
possession of the province in the name of France. Spain was
preparing to evacuate and general confusion prevailed. Very Rev.
Thomas Hasset, the administrator of the diocese, was directed to
address each priest and ascertain whether they preferred to
return with the Spanish forces or to remain in Louisiana; also
to obtain from each parish an inventory of the plate, vestments,
and other articles in the church which had been given by the
Spanish Government. Then came the news of the cession of the
province to the United States. On 20 April, 1803, De Laussat
formally surrendered the colony to the United States
commissioners. The people felt it keenly, and the cathedral
archives show the difficulties to be surmounted. Father Hasset,
as administrator, issued a letter to the clergy on 10 June,
1803, announcing the new domination, and notifying all of the
permission to return to Spain if they desired. Several priests
signified their desire to follow the Spanish standard. The
question of withdrawal was also discussed by the Ursuline nuns.
Thirteen out of the twenty-one choir nuns were in favour of
returning to Spain or going to Havana. De Laussat went to the
convent and assured them that they could remain unmolested.
Notwithstanding this Mother Saint Monica and eleven others, with
nearly all the lay sisters applied to the Marquis de Casa Calvo
to convey them to Havana. Six choir nuns and two lay sisters
remained to begin again the work in Louisiana. They elected
Mother St. Xavier Fargeon as superioress, and resumed all the
exercises of community life, maintaining their academy, day
school, orphan asylum, hospital and instructions for coloured
people in catechism. Father Hasset wrote to Bishop Carroll, 23
December, 1803, that the retrocession of the province to the
United States of America impelled him to present to his
consideration the present ecclesiastical state of Louisiana, not
doubting that it would soon fall under his jurisdiction. The
ceded province consisted of twenty-one parishes some of which
were vacant. "The churches were", to use his own words, "all
descent temples and comfortably supplied with ornaments and
everything necessary for divine services. . . . Of twenty-six
ecclesiastics in the province only four had agreed to continue
their respective stations under the French Government; and
whether any more would remain under that of the United States
only God knew." Father Hasset said that for his own part he felt
could not with propriety, relinquish his post, and consequently
awaited superior orders to take his departure. He said that the
Rev. Patrick Walsh, vicar-general and auxiliary governor of the
diocese, had declared that he would not abandon his post
providing he could hold it with propriety. Father Hasset died in
April 1804. Father Antonio Sedella had returned to New Orleans
in 1791, and resumed his duties as parish priest of the St.
Louis Cathedral to which he had been appointed by Bishop Cirilo.
After the cession a dispute arose between him and Father Walsh,
and the latter, 27 March, 1805, established the Ursuline convent
as the only place in the parish for the administration of the
sacraments and the celebration of the Divine Office. On 21
March, 1804, the Ursulines addressed a letter to Thomas
Jefferson, President of the United States, in which they
solicited the passage of an Act of Congress guaranteeing their
property and rights. The president replied reassuring the
Ursulines. "The principles of the Constitution of the United
States" he wrote, "are a sure guaranty to you that it will be
preserved to you sacred and inviolate, and that your institution
will be permitted to govern itself according to its own
voluntary rules without interference from the civil authority.
Whatever diversity of shades may appear in the religious
opinions of our fellow citizens, the charitable objects of your
Institution cannot be of indifference to any; and its
furtherance of the wholesome purpose by training up its young
members in the way they should go cannot fail to insure the
patronage of the government it is under. Be assured that it will
meet with all the protection my office can give it. "
Father Walsh, administrator of the diocese, died on 22 August,
1806, and was buried in the Ursuline chapel. The Archiepiscopal
See of Santo Domingo, the metropolitan of the province, to which
the Diocese of Louisiana and the Floridas belonged, was vacant,
and not one of the bishops of the Spanish province would
interfere in the New Orleans Diocese, though the Bishop of
Havana extended his authority once more over the Florida portion
of the diocese. As the death of Father Walsh left the diocese
without anyone to govern it, Bishop Carroll, who had meanwhile
informed himself of the condition of affairs, resolved to act
under the decree of 1 Sept., 1805, and assume administration.
Father Antoine had been accused of intriguing openly against the
Government; but beyond accusations made to Bishop Carroll there
is nothing to substantiate them. He was much loved in New
Orleans and some of his friends desired to obtain the influence
of the French Government to have him appointed to the Bishopric
of Louisiana. However, there is in the archives of the New
Orleans cathedral a letter from Father Antoine to the Bishop of
Baltimore declaring that having heard that some members of the
clergy and laity had applied to Rome to have him appointed to
the Bishopric of Louisiana, he hereby declared to the Bishop of
Baltimore that he would not consider the position, that he was
unworthy of the honour and too old to do any good. He would be
grateful to the bishop if he would cut short any further efforts
in that direction.
Bishop Carroll wrote to James Madison, Secretary of State (17
November, 1806) in regard to the Church in Louisiana and the
recommending of two or three clergymen one of whom might be
appointed Bishop of New Orleans. Mr. Madison replied that the
matter being purely ecclesiastical the Government could not
interfere. He seemed, however, to share the opinion of Bishop
Carroll in regard to the character and rights of Father Antoine.
In 1806 a decree of the Propaganda confided Louisiana to the
care of Bishop Carroll of Baltimore, and created him
administrator apostolic. He appointed Rev. John Olivier (who had
been at Cohokia until 1803), Vicar-General of Louisiana and
chaplain of the Ursuline Nuns at New Orleans. Father Olivier
presented his documents to the Governor of Louisiana, and also
wrote to Father Antoine Sedella apprising him of the action of
the Propaganda. Father Antoine called upon Father Olivier, but
he was not satisfied as to Bishop Carroll's authorization. The
vicar-general published the decree and the bishop's letter at
the convent chapel. The Rev. Thomas Flynn wrote from St. Louis,
8 Nov., 1806, that the trustees were about to install him. He
describes the church as a good one with a tolerably good bell, a
high altar, and commodious pews. The house for the priest was
convenient but in need of repair. Except Rev. Fr. Maxwell there
was scarcely a priest in Upper Louisiana in 1807.
As the original rescript issued by the Holy See to Bishop
Carroll had not been so distinct and clear as to obviate
objections, he applied to the Holy See asking that more ample
and distinct authorizations be sent. The Holy See placed the
Province of Louisiana under Bishop Carroll who was requested to
send to the New Orleans Diocese either Rev. Charles Nerinckx, or
some secular or religious priest, with the rank of administrator
Apostolic and the rights of an ordinary to continue only at the
good will of the Holy See according to instructions to be
forwarded by the Propaganda. Bishop Carroll did not act
immediately, but on 18 August, 1812, appointed Rev. Louis V. G.
Dubourg Administrator Apostolic of the Diocese of Louisiana and
the Two Floridas. Dr. Dubourg's authority was at once recognized
by Fr. Antoine and the rest of the clergy. The war between the
United States and Great Britain was in progress, and as the year
1814 drew to a close, Dr. Dubourg issued a pastoral letter
calling on the people to pray for the success of the American
arms. During the battle of New Orleans (8 Jan., 1815) Gen.
Andrew Jackson sent a messenger to the Ursuline convent to ask
for prayers for his success. When victory came he sent a courier
thanking the sisters for their prayers, and he decreed a public
thanksgiving; a solemn high Mass was celebrated in the St. Louis
Cathedral, 23 January, 1815. The condition of religion in the
diocese was not encouraging, seven out of fourteen parishes were
vacant. Funds were also needed and Dr. Dubourg went to Rome to
ask for aid for his diocese. There the Propaganda appointed him
bishop, 18 September, 1818, and on 24 September he was
consecrated by Cardinal Joseph Pamfili (see DUBOURG).
Bishop Dubourg proposed the division of the diocese and the
erection of a see in Upper Louisiana, but the news of troubles
among the clergy in New Orleans and the attempt of the trustees
to obtain a charter depriving the bishop of his cathedral so
alarmed him that he petitioned the Propaganda to allow him to
take up his residence in St. Louis and establish his seminary
and other educational institutions there. He sailed from
Bordeaux for New Orleans (28 June, 1817), accompanied by five
priests, four subdeacons, eleven seminarians and three Christian
Brothers. He took possession of the church at St. Genevieve, a
ruined wooden structure, and was installed by Bishop Flaget. He
then established the Lazarist seminary at Bois Brule ("The
Barrens"), and brought from Bardstowm, where they were
temporarily sojourning, Father Andreis, Father Rosati, and the
seminarians who accompanied him from Europe. The Brothers of the
Christian Doctrine opened a boys' school at St. Genevieve. At
his request the Religious of the Sacred Heart, comprising
Madames Philippe Duchesne, Berthold, André, and two lay sisters
reaching New Orleans, 30 May, 1818, proceeded from St. Louis and
opened their convent at Florissant. In 1821 they established a
convent at Grand Coteau, Louisiana. The faith made great
progress throughout the diocese. On 1 January, 1821, Bishop
Dubourg held the first synod since the Purchase of Louisiana.
Where he found ten superannuated priests there were now forty
active, zealous men at work. Still appeals came from all part of
the immense diocese for priests; among others he received a
letter from the banks of the Columbia in Oregon begging him to
send a priest to minister to 1500 Catholics there who had never
had anyone to attend to them. The Ursuline Nuns, frequently
annoyed by being summoned to court, appealed to the legislature
claiming the privileges they had enjoyed under the French and
Spanish dominations. Their ancient rights were recognized and a
law was passed, 28 January, 1818, enacting that where the
testimony of a nun was required it should be taken at the
convent by commission. It had a far-reaching effect in later
days upon legislation in the United States in similar cases.
Spain by treaty ceded Florida to the United States, 22 February,
1818, and Bishop Dubourg was then able to extend his episcopal
care to that part of his diocese, the vast extent of which
prompted him to form plans for the erection of a metropolitan
see west of the Alleghenies. This did not meet with the approval
of the bishops of the United States; he then proposed to divide
the Diocese of Louisiana and the Floridas, establishing a see at
New Orleans embracing Lower Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and
Florida. Finally, 13 August, 1822, the vicariate Apostolic of
Mississippi and Alabama was formed with the Reverend Joseph
Rosati, elected Bishop of Tenagra, as vicar Apostolic. But
Archbishop Maréchal remonstrated because in establishing this
vicariate the propaganda had inadvertently invaded the rights of
the Archbishop of Baltimore as the whole of those states except
a small portion south of the thirty-first degree between Perdido
and Pearl Island belonged to the Diocese of Baltimore. Bishop
Rosati also wrote representing the poverty and paucity of the
Catholics in Mississippi and Alabama, and the necessity of
remaining at the head of the seminary. Finally his arguments and
the protests of the Archbishop of Baltimore prevailed, and the
Holy See suppressed the vicariate, appointing Dr. Rosati
coadjutor to Bishop Dubourg to reside at St. Louis. Bishop
Rosati was consecrated by Bishop Dubourg at Donaldsonville, 25
March, 1824, and proceeded at once to St. Louis. In 1823 Bishop
Dubourg took up the subject of the Indian missions and laid
before the Government the necessity of a plan for the
civilization and conversion of the Indians west of the
Mississippi. His plan met with the approval of the Government
and an allowance of $200 a year was assigned to four or five
missionaries, to be increased if the project proved successful.
On 29 August, 1825, Alabama and the Floridas were erected into a
vicariate Apostolic, with Rev. Michael Portier the first bishop.
The Holy See divided the Diocese of Louisiana (18 July, 1826),
and established the See of New Orleans with Louisiana as its
diocese, and the Vicariate Apostolic of Mississippi to be
administered by the Bishop of New Orleans. The country north of
Louisiana was made the Diocese of St. Louis, Bishop Rosati being
transferred to that see. Bishop Dubourg, though a man of vast
projects and of great service to the church, was little versed
in business methods; discouraged at the difficulties that rose
to thwart him he resigned his see and was transferred to
Mantauban. Bishop Rosati, appointed to the See of New Orleans,
declined the appointment, urging that his knowledge of English
qualified him to labour better in Missouri, Illinois, and
Arkansas, while he was not sufficiently versed in French to
address the people of New Orleans with success. On 20 March,
1827, the papal brief arrived allowing him to remain in St.
Louis but charging him for a while with the administration of
the See of New Orleans. He appointed Rev. Leo Raymond de
Neckere, C. M., vicar-general, and strongly recommended his
appointment for the vacant see. Father de Neckere, then in
Belgium wither he had gone to recuperate his health, was
summoned to Rome and appointed bishop. Bishop de Neckere was
born, 6 June, 1800, at Wevelghem, Belgium, and while a
seminarian at Ghent, was accepted for the Diocese of New Orleans
by Bishop Dubourg. He joined the Lazarists and was ordained in
St. Louis, Missouri, 13 October, 1822. On 23 February, 1832, he
convoked a synod attended by twenty-one priests. Regulations
were promulgated for better discipline and steps were taken to
form an association for the dissemination of good literature.
Americans were now pouring into New Orleans. The ancient French
limits had long since disappeared. Such was the enterprise on
all sides that in 1832 New Orleans ranked in importance
immediately after New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. It was the
greatest cotton and sugar market in the world. Irish emigration
also set in, and a church for the English-speaking people was an
absolute necessity as the cathedral and the old Ursuline chapel
were the only places of worship in New Orleans. A site was
bought on Camp Street near Julia, a frame church, St. Patrick's,
was erected and dedicated on 21 April, 1833. Rev. Adam Kindelon
was the pastor of this, the first English-speaking congregation
of New Orleans. The foundation of this parish was one of the
last official acts of Bishop de Neckere. The year was one of
sickness and death. Cholera and yellow fever raged. The priests
were kept busy day and night, and the vicar-general, Father B.
Richards and Fathers Marshall, Tichitoli, Kindelon fell victims
to their zeal. Fr. de Neckere, who had retired to a convent at
Convent, La., in hope of restoring his shattered health,
returned at once to the city upon the outbreak of the epidemic,
and began visiting and ministering to the plague-stricken. Soon
he too was seized with fever and succumbed ten days later, 5
September, 1833. Just before the bishop's death there arrived in
New Orleans a priest who was destined to exercise for many years
an influence upon the life and progress of the Church and the
Commonwealth, Father James Ignatius Mullen; he was immediately
appointed to the vacant rectorship of St. Patrick's. Upon the
death of Bishop De Neckere, Fathers Anthony Blanc and V.
Lavadière, S.J., became the administrators of the diocese. In
November, undismayed by the epidemic which still continued, a
band of Sisters of Charity set out from Emmitsburg, to take
charge of the Charity Hospital of New Orleans. The sisters had
come into the diocese about 1832 to assume the direction of the
Poydras Asylum, erected by Julian Poydras, a Huguenot. Seven of
the new colony from Emmitsburg were sent to the asylum, and ten
to the Charity Hospital. Bishop de Neckere had invited the
Tertiary Sisters of Mount Carmel to make a foundation in New
Orleans, which they did on 22 October, 1833, a convent school
and an orphanage being opened.
Father Augustine Jeanjean was selected by Rome to fill the
episcopal vacancy, but he declined, and Father Anthony Blanc was
appointed and consecrated on 22 November, 1835 (see BLANC,
ANTHONY). Bishop Blanc knew the great want of the diocese, the
need of priests, whose ranks had been decimated by age,
pestilence, and overwork. To meet this want, Bishop Blanc asked
the Jesuits to establish a college in Louisiana. They arrived on
22 January, 1837, and opened a college at Grand Coteau on 5
January, 1838. He then invited the Lazarists and on 20 December,
1838, they arrived and at once opened a seminary at Bayeaux
Lafourche. In 1836, Julian Poydras having died, the asylum which
he founded passed entirely under Presbyterian auspices, and the
Sisters of Charity being compelled to relinquish the direction,
St. Patrick's Orphan Asylum, now New Orleans Female Orphan
Asylum was founded and placed under their care.
In 1841 the Sisters Marianites of the Holy Cross came to New
Orleans to assume charge of St. Mary's Orphan Boys Asylum. They
opened also an academy for young ladies and the orphanage of the
Immaculate Conception for girls. The wants of coloured people
also deeply concerned Bishop Blanc and he worked assiduously for
the proper spiritual care of the slaves. After the insurrection
of San Domingo in 1793 a large number of coloured people from
that island who were slaveholders themselves took refuge in New
Orleans. Thus was created a free coloured population among which
successive epidemics played havoc leaving aged and orphans to be
cared for. Accordingly in 1842 Bishop Blanc and Father
Rousselon, V.G., founded the Sisters of the Holy Family, whose
duty was the care of the coloured orphans and the aged coloured
poor. It was the first coloured sisterhood founded in the United
States, and one of the only two that exist.
Bishop Blanc planned the erection of new parishes in the city of
New Orleans, and St. Joseph's and the Annunciation were founded
in 1844. The foundation of these parishes greatly diminished the
congregation of the cathedral and the trustees seeing their
influence waning entered upon a new war against religion. Upon
the death of Father Aloysius Moni, Bishop Blanc appointed Father
C. Maenhaut rector of the cathedral, but the wardens refused to
recognize his appointment, claiming the right of patronage
formerly enjoyed by the King of Spain. They brought an action
against the bishop in the parish court, but the judge decided
against the trustees, and the case was appealed to the Supreme
Court. The Supreme Court decided that the right to nominate a
parish priest, or the jus patronatus of Spanish law, was
abrogated in the state, and the decision of the Holy See was
sustained. But the wardens refused to recognize this decision
and the bishop ordered the clergy to withdraw from the cathedral
and parochial residence. One of the members of the board, who
was a member of the city council, obtained the passage of a law,
punishing by fine any priest who should perform the burial
service over a dead body except in the old mortuary chapel
erected in 1826 as part of the cathedral parish. Under this
ordinance Rev. Bernard Permoli was prosecuted. The old chapel
had long outlived its purpose, and on 18 December, 1842, Judge
Preval decided the ordinance illegal, and the Supreme Court of
the United States sustained his decision. The faithful of St.
Patrick's parish having publicly protested against the
outrageous proceedings, the tide of public opinion set in
strongly against the men who thus defied all church authority.
In January, 1843, the latter submitted and received the parish
priest appointed by the bishop. Soon after the faithful
Catholics of the city petitioned the legislature to amend the
Act incorporating the cathedral, and bring it into harmony with
ecclesiastical discipline. Even after the decision of the
Legislature the bishop felt he could not treat with the wardens
as they defied his authority by authorizing the erection of a
monument to Freemasons in the Catholic cemetery of St. Louis. To
free the faithful, he therefore continued to plan for the
organization of parishes and the erection of new churches. Only
one low Mass was said at the cathedral, and that on Sunday.
Bishop Blanc convened the third synod of the diocese on 21
April, at which the clergy were warned against yielding to the
illegal claims of the trustees, and the erection of any church
without a deed being first made to the bishop was forbidden. For
the churches in which the trustees system still existed special
regulations were made, governing the method of keeping accounts.
At the close of 1844, the trustees, defeated in the courts and
held in contempt by public opinion throughout the diocese,
yielded completely to Bishop Blanc.
The controversy terminated, a period of remarkable activity in
the organization of parishes and the building of new churches
set in. The cornerstone of St. Mary's, intended to replace the
old Ursuline chapel attached to the bishop's house, was laid on
16 Feb.,1845; that of St. Joseph's on 16 April, 1846; that of
the Annunciation on 10 May, 1846. The Redemptorists founded the
parish of the Assumption, and were installed in its church on 22
October, 1847. The parish of Mater Dolorsa at Carrollton (then a
suburb) was founded on 8 Sept,; that of Holy Name of Mary at
Algiers on 18 Dec., 1848. In 1849 St. Stephen's parish in the
then suburb of Bouligny under the Lazarist Fathers and Sts.
Peter and Paul came into existence. The cornerstone of the
Redemptorists church of St. Alphonsus was laid by the famous
Apostle of Temperance, Father Theobald Mathew, on 11 April,
1850; two years later it was found necessary to enlarge this
church, and a school was added. In 1851 the foundation-stone of
the church of the Immaculate Conception was laid, on the site of
a humbler edifice erected in 1848. This is said to have been the
first church in the world dedicated to the Immaculate
Conception. The parishes of St. John the Baptist in uppertown
and of St. Anne in the French quarter were organized in 1852.
The French congregation of Notre-Dame de Bon Secours was
organized on 16 Jan., 1858. In the midst of great progress
yellow fever broke out and five priests and two Sisters of
Charity swelled the roll of martyrs. The devoted services of the
Sisters of Charity, especially during the ravages of the yellow
fever, in attending the sick and caring for the orphans were so
highly appreciated by the Legislation that in 1846 the State
made them a grant of land near Donaldsonville for the opening of
a novitiate, and a general subscription was made throughout the
diocese for this purpose. The sisters established themselves in
Donaldsonville the same year.
In 1843, anxious to provide for the wants of the increasing
German and Irish immigration, Bishop Blanc had summoned the
Congregation of the Redemptorists to the diocese and the German
parish of St. Mary's Assumption was founded by Rev. Czackert of
that congregation. In 1847 the work of the Society of Jesus in
the diocese, which had been temporarily suspended, was resumed
under Father Maisounabe as superior, and a college building was
started on 10 June. In the following year Father Maisounabe and
a brilliant young Irish associate, Father Blackney, fell victims
to yellow fever. The population of New Orleans now numbered over
fifty thousand, among whom were many German immigrants. Bishop
Blanc turned over the old Ursuline chapel to the Germans of the
lower portion of the city, and a church was erected which
finally resulted in the foundation of the Holy Trinity parish on
26 October, 1847. In 1849 the College of St. Paul was opened at
Baton Rouge. On 13 July, 1852, St. Charles College became a
corporate institution with with Rev. A. J. Jourdan, S.J., as
president. In 1849 Bishop Blanc attended the seventh council of
Baltimore at which the bishops expressed their desire that the
See of New Orleans be raised to metropolitan rank. On 19 July,
1850, Pius X established the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Bishop
Blanc being raised to the Archiepiscopal dignity. The Province
of New Orleans was to embrace New Orleans with Mobile, Natchez,
Little Rock, and Galveston as suffragan sees. The spirit of
Knownothingism invaded New Orleans as other parts of the United
States, and Archbishop Blanc found himself in the thick of the
battle. Public debates were held, conspicuous among those who
did yeoman service in crushing the efforts of the party in
Louisiana being Hon. Thos. J. Semmes, a distinguished advocate,
Rev. Francis Xavier Leray and Rev. N. J. Perche, both afterwards
Archbishop of New Orleans. Father Perche founded (1844) a French
diocesan journal "Le Propagateur Catholique", which vigorously
assailed the Knownothing doctrines. On June 6 a mob attacked the
office of the paper, and also made a fierce attack on the
Ursuline convent, breaking doors and windows and hurling insults
at the nuns.
In 1853 New Orleans was decimated by the worst outbreak of
yellow fever in its history, seven priests and five sisters
being among its victims. On 6 March, 1854, the School Sisters of
Notre Dame arrived in New Orleans to take charge of St. Joseph's
Asylum, founded to furnish homes for those orphaned by the
epidemic. St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum was also opened as a home
for foundling and infant orphans, and entrusted to the Sisters
of Charity. On 29 July, 1853, the Holy See divided the Diocese
of New Orleans, which at that time embraced all of Louisiana,
and established the See of Natchitoches (q. v.). The new diocese
contained about twenty-five thousand Catholics, chiefly a rural
population, for whom there were only seven churches. The Convent
of the Sacred Heart at Natchitoches was the only religious
institution in the new diocese. In 1854 Archbishop Blanc went to
Rome and was present at the solemn definition of the dogma of
the Immaculate Conception. In his report to Propaganda he
describes his diocese as containing forty quasi-churches, each
with a church and one or two priests and a residence for the
clergy; the city had eighteen churches. The diocese had a
seminary under the Priests of the Mission with an average of
nine students; the religious orders at work were the Jesuits
with three establishments, Priests of the Mission with three,
and the Redemptorists with two. The Catholic population of
95,000 was made up of natives of French, Spanish, Irish, or
American origin, French, Germans, Spaniards, and Italians.
Distinctive Catholic schools were increasing. The Ursulines,
Religious of the Sacred Heart, Sisters of Holy Charity,
Marianites of the Holy Cross, Tertiary Carmelites, School
Sisters of Notre Dame and the Coloured Sisters of the Holy
Family were doing excellent work. Many abuses had crept in
especially with regard to marriage, but after the erection of
the new churches with smaller parochial school districts,
religion had gained steadily and the frequentation of the
sacraments was increasing.
In 1855 the Fathers of the Congregation of the Holy Cross came
to New Orleans to establish a manual industrial school for the
training of the orphan boys who had bee rendered homeless by the
terrible epidemic of 1853. They established themselves in the
lower portion of New Orleans and became inseparably identified
with religious and educational progress. In 1879 they opened
their college, which is now one of the leading institutions of
Louisiana. On 20 January, 1856, the First Provincial Council of
New Orleans was held, and in January, 1858, Archbishop Blanc
held the fourth diocesan synod. In 1859 the Sisters of the Good
Shepherd were called by Archbishop Blanc to New Orleans to open
a reformatory for girls. Bishop Blanc opened another diocesan
seminary in the same year, and placed it in charge of the
Lazarist Fathers. He convoked the second provincial council on
22 January, 1860. Just before the second session opened he was
taken so seriously ill that he could no longer attend the
meetings. He rallied and seemed to regain his usual health, but
he died 20 June following.
Right Rev. John Mary Odin, Bishop of Galveston, was appointed
successor to Archbishop Blanc, and arrived in New Orleans on the
Feat of Pentecost, 1861. The Civil War had already begun and
excitement was intense. All the prudence and charity of the
Archbishop were needed as the war progressed. An earnest
maintainer of discipline, Bishop Odin found it necessary, on 1
January, 1863, to issue regulations regarding the recklessness
and carelessness that had prevailed in the temporal management
of the churches the indebtedness of which he had been compelled
to assume to save them from bankruptcy. The regulations were not
favourably received, and the archbishop visited Rome, returning
in the spring of 1863, when he had obtained the permission of
the Holy See for his course of action. It was not until some
time later that through his charity and zeal he obtained the
cordial support he desired. His appeals for priests while in
Europe were not unheeded and early in 1863 forty seminarians and
five Ursulines arrived with Bishop Dubuis of Galveston. Among
the priests were Fathers Gustave A. Rouxel, later Auxiliary
Bishop of New Orleans under Archbishop Chapelle, Thomas Heslin,
afterwards Bishop of Natchez, and J. R. Bogaerts, vice-general
under Archbishop Janssens. In 1860 the Dominican Nuns from
Cabra, Ireland came to New Orleans to take charge of St. John
the Baptist School and open an academy. In 1864 the Sisters of
Mercy came to the city to assume charge of St. Alphonsus' School
and Asylum and open a convent and boarding school, and the
Marists were offered the Church of St. Michael at Convent, La.
On 12 July, 1864, they assumed charge of Jefferson College
founded by the state in 1835 and donated to them by Valcour
Aime, a wealthy planter. The diocese was incorporated on 15
August, 1866, the legal name being "The Roman Catholic Church of
the Diocese of New Orleans". In 1867 during a terrible epidemic
of yellow fever and cholera, Fathers Speesberger and Seelos of
the Redemptorists died martyrs of charity. Father Seelos was
regarded as a saint and the cause of his beautification was
introduced in Rome (1905). In 1866, owing to financial trials
throughout the South, the diocesan seminary was closed. In
February, 1868, Archbishop Odin founded "The Morning Star" as
the official organ of the diocese, which it has continued to be.
During the nine years of Bishop Odin's administration he nearly
doubled the number of his clergy and churches. He attended the
Council of the Vatican, but was obliged to leave Rome on the
entry of the Garibaldian troops. His health was broken and he
returned to his native home, Ambierle, France, where he died on
25 May, 1870. He was born on 25 February, 1801, and entered the
Lazarists. He came as a novice to their seminary, The Barrens,
in St. Louis, where he completed his theological studies and
received ordination (see GALVESTON, DIOCESE OF). He was an
excellent administrator and left his diocese free from debt.
Archbishop Odin was succeeded by Rev. Napoleon Joseph Perche,
born at Angers, France, January, 1805, and died on 27 December,
1883. The latter completed his studies at the seminary of
Beaupré, was ordained on 19 September, 1829, and sent to Murr
near Angers where he worked zealously. In 1837 he came to
America with Bishop Flaget and was appointed pastor of Portland.
He came to New Orleans with Bishop Blanc in 1841, and he soon
became famous in Louisiana for his eloquence and learning.
Archbishop Odin petitioned Rome for the appointment of Father
Perche as his coadjutor with the right of succession. His
request was granted and, on 1 May, 1870, Father Perche was
consecrated in the cathedral of New Orleans titular bishop of
Abdera. He was promoted to the see on 26 May, 1970. One of his
first acts was the re-establishment of the diocesan seminary.
The Benedictine Nuns were received into the diocese in 1870.
The Congregation of the Immaculate Conception, a diocesan
sisterhood, was founded in the year 1873 by Father Cyprian
Venissat, at Labadieville, to afford education and assistance to
children of families impoverished by the war. In 1875 the Poor
Clares made a foundation, and on 21 November, 1877, the
Discalced Carmelites Nuns of St. Louis sent two members to make
a foundation in New Orleans, their monastery being opened on 11
May, 1878. In 1878 the new parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
was organized and placed in charge of the Holy Cross Fathers
from Indiana. On 12 October, 1872, the Sisters of Perpetual
Adoration opened their missions and schools in New Orleans. In
1879 the Holy Cross Fathers opened a college in the lower
portion of the city. Owing to the financial difficulties it was
necessary to close the diocesan seminary in 1881. Archbishop
Perche was a great scholar, but he lacked administrative
ability. In his desire to relieve Southern families ruined by
the war, he gave to all largely and royally, and thus plunged
the diocese into a debt of over $600,000. He was growing very
feeble and an application was made to Rome for a coadjutor.
Bishop Francis Xavier Leray of Natchitoches was transferred to
New Orleans as coadjutor and Apostolic administrator of affairs
on 23 October, 1879, and at once set to work to liquidate the
immense debt. It was during the administration of Archbishop
Perche and the coadjutorship of Bishop Leray that the Board of
Trustees of the cathedral that formerly had caused so much
trouble passed out of existence in July 1881, and transferred
all the cathedral property to Archbishop Perche and Bishop Leray
jointly, for the benefit and use of the Catholic population.
Archbishop Leray was born at Château Giron, Brittany, France, 20
April, 1825. He responded to the appeal for priests for the
Diocese of Louisiana in 1843, and completed his theological
studies in the Sulpician seminary in Baltimore. He accompanied
Bishop Chanche to Natchez and was ordained by him on 19 March,
1852. He was a most active missionary in the Mississippi
district and in 1860 when pastor of Vicksburg he brought the
Sisters of Mercy from Baltimore to establish a school there.
Several times during his years of activity as a priest he was
stricken with yellow fever.
During the Civil War he served as a Confederate chaplain; and on
several occasions he was taken prisoner by the Federal forces
but was released as soon as the sacred character of his office
was established. On the death of Bishop Martin he was appointed
to the see of Natchitoches, and consecrated on 22 April, 1877,
at Rennes, France; on 23 October 1879 he was appointed coadjutor
to Archbishop Perche of New Orleans and Bishop of Janopolis. His
most difficult task was the bringing of financial order out of
chaos and reducing the enormous debt of the diocese. In this he
met with great success. During his administration the debt was
reduced by at least $300,000. His health, however, became
impaired, and he went to France in the hope of recuperating, and
died at Château Giron, on 23 September, 1887.
The see remained vacant for nearly a year, Very Rev. G. A.
Rouxel administering the affairs of the diocese, until Right
Rev. Francis Janssens, Bishop of Natchez, was promoted to fill
the vacancy on 7 August, 1888, and took possession on 16
September, 1888. Archbishop Janssens was born at Tillbourg,
Holland, on 17 October, 1843. At thirteen he began his studies
in the seminary at Bois-le-Duc; he remained there ten years, and
in 1866 entered the American College at Louvain, Belgium. He was
ordained on 21 December, 1867, and arranged to come to America.
He arrived at Richmond in September, 1868, and became pastor of
the cathedral in 1870. He was administrator of the diocese
pending the appointment of Right Rev. James (later Cardinal)
Gibbons to the vacant see; Bishop Gibbons appointed him
vicar-general, and five years later when he was appointed to the
Archiepiscopal see of Baltimore, Father Janssens became again
administrator of the diocese. On 7 April, 1881, the See of
Natchez became vacant by the promotion of Right Rev. William
Elder as Bishop of Cincinnati and Father Janssens succeeded.
While Bishop of Natchez he completed the cathedral commenced
forty years before by Bishop Chanche. Not the least of the
difficulties that awaited him as Archbishop of New Orleans was
the heavy indebtedness resting upon the see and the constant
drain thus made which had exhausted the treasury. There was no
seminary and the rapid growth of the population augmented the
demand for priests. He at once called a meeting of the clergy
and prominent citizens, and plans were formulated for the
gradual liquidation of the debt of the diocese, which was found
to be $324,759. Before his death he had reduced it to about
$130,000. Notwithstanding this burden, the diocese, through the
zeal of Archbishop Janssens, entered upon a period of unusual
activity. One of his first acts, March, 1890, was a to fund a
little seminary, which was opened at Pounchatoula, La., 3
September, 1891, and placed under the direction of the
Benedictine Fathers. He went to Europe in 1889 to secure priests
for the diocese and to arrange for the sale of bonds for the
liquidation of the debt. In August, 1892, after the lynching of
the Italians who assassinated the chief of police, the
Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, founded in Italy by
Mother Cabrina for work among Italians immigrants, arrived in
New Orleans and opened a large mission, a free school, and an
asylum for Italian orphans, and began also mission work among
the Italian gardeners on the outskirts of the city and in
Kenner, La. The same year a terrific cyclone and storm swept the
Louisiana Gulf Coast, and laid low the lands among the Caminada
Cheniere where there was a settlement of Italian and Spanish and
Malay fishermen. Out of a population of 1500 over 800 were swept
away. Rev. Father Grimaud performed the burial service over 400
bodies as they were washed ashore. Father Bedel at Beras buried
over three hundred and went out at night to succour the
wandering and helpless. Archbishop Janssens in a small boat went
among the lonely and desolate island settlements comforting the
people and helping them to rebuild their broken homes.
In 1893, the centenary of the diocese was celebrated with
splendor at the St. Louis Cathedral; Cardinal Gibbons and many
of the hierarchy were present. Archbishop Janssens was
instrumental, at this time, in establishing the Louisiana
Leper's Home at Indian Camp, and it was through his officers
that the Sisters of Charity at Emmitsburg took charge of the
home. He was deeply interested in the work of the Coloured
Sisters of the Holy Family, now domiciled in the ancient
Quadroon Ball Room and Theatre of antebellum days, which had
been turned into a convent and boarding-school. Through the
generosity of a coloured philanthropist, Thomy Lafon, Archbishop
Janssens was enabled to provide a large and more comfortable
home for the aged coloured poor, a new asylum for the boys, and
through the legacy of $20,000 left for this purpose by Mr.
Lafon, who died in 1883, a special home, under the care of the
Sisters of the Good Shepherd, for the reform of coloured girls.
The St. John Berchman's Chapel, a memorial to Thomy Lafon, was
erected in the Convent of the Holy Family which he had so
befriended. At this time Archbishop Janssens estimated the
number of Catholics in the diocese at 341,613; the value of
church property at $3,861,075; the number of baptisms a year
15,000 and the number of deaths, 5000.
In 1896 the Catholic Winter School of America was organized and
was formally opened by Cardinal Satolli, then Apostolic delegate
to the United States. After the death of Archbishop Janssens the
lecture courses were abandoned. The active life led by the
archbishop told heavily upon him. Anxious to liquidate entirely
the debt of the diocese he made arrangements to visit Europe in
1897, but died aboard the steamer Creole, 19 June, on the voyage
to New York.
Most Rev. Placide Louis Chapelle, D.D., Archbishop of Santa Fé,
was appointed to the vacant See of New Orleans, 1 December,
1897. Shortly after coming to New Orleans he found it imperative
to go to Europe to effect a settlement for the remainder of the
diocesan debt of $130,000. While he was in Europe, war was
declared between Spain and the United States, and, upon the
declaration of peace, Archbishop Chapelle was appointed
Apostolic delegate extraordinary to Cuba and Porto Rico and
charge d'affaires to the Philippine Islands. Returning from
Europe he arranged the assessment of five percent upon the
salaries of the clergy for five years for the liquidation of the
diocesan debt. In October 1900 he closed the little seminary at
Ponchatoula, and opened a higher one in New Orleans, placing it
in charge of the Lazarist Fathers. The Right Rev. G. A. Rouxel
was appointed auxiliary bishop for the See of New Orleans, and
was consecrated 10 April, 1899. Right Rev. J. M. Laval was made
vicar-general and rector of the St. Louis Cathedral on 21 April,
and Very Rev. James H. Blenk was appointed Bishop of Porto Rico
and consecrated in the St. Louis Cathedral with Archbishop
Barnada of Santiago de Cuba, 2 July, 1899. Archbishop Chapelle
was absent from the diocese for the greater part of his
administration, duties in the Antilles and the Philippines in
connection with his position as Apostolic Delegate claiming his
attention, nevertheless he accomplished much for New Orleans.
The diocesan debt was extinguished, and the activity in church
work which had begun under Archbishop Janssens continued;
returning to New Orleans he introduced into the diocese the
Dominican Fathers from the Philippines. In the summer of 1905,
while the archbishop was administering confirmation in the
country parishes, yellow fever broke out in New Orleans, and,
deeming it his duty to be among his people, he returned
immediately to the city. On the way from the train to his
residence he was stricken, and died 9 August, 1905 (see
CHAPELLE, PLACIDE LOUIS). Auxiliary Bishop Rouxel became the
administrator of the diocese pending the appointment of a
successor. The Right Rev. James Herbert Blenk, S.M., D.D.,
Bishop of Porto Rico, was promoted to New Orleans, 20 April,
1906.
IV. CONTEMPORARY CONDITIONS
Archbishop Blenk was born at Neustadt, Bavaria, 28 July, 1856,
of Protestant parentage. While a child, his family came to New
Orleans, and it was here that the light of the True Faith dawned
upon the boy; he was baptized in St. Alphonsus Church at the age
of twelve. His primary education having been completed in New
Orleans, he entered Jefferson College where he completed his
classical and scientific studies under the Marist fathers. He
spent three years at the Marist house of studies in Belley,
France, completed his probational studies at the Marist
novitiate at Lyons, and was sent to Dublin to follow a higher
course of mathematics at the Catholic University. Thence he went
to St. Mary's College, Dundalk, County Louth, where he occupied
the chair of mathematics. Later he returned to the Marist house
of studies in Dublin where he completed his theological studies.
16 August, 1885, he was ordained priest, and returned that year
to Louisiana to labour among his own people. He was stationed as
a professor at Jefferson College of which he became president in
1891 and held the position for six years. In 1896, at the
invitation of the general of the Marists, he visited all the
houses of the congregation in Europe, and returning to New
Orleans in February, 1897, he became rector of the Church of the
Holy Name of Mary, Algiers, which was in charge of the Marist
Fathers. He erected the handsome presbytery and gave impetus to
religion and education in the parish and city, being chairman of
the Board of Studies of the newly organized Winter School. He
was a member of the Board of Consultors during the
administration of Archbishop Janssens and of Archbishop
Chapelle; the latter selected him as the auditor and secretary
of the Apostolic delegation to Cuba and Porto Rico. He was
appointed the first bishop of the Island of Porto Rico under the
American occupation 12 June, 1890. A hurricane overswept Porto
Rico just before Bishop Blenk left to take possession of his
see; through his personal efforts he raised $30,000 in the
United States to take with him to alleviate the sufferings of
his new people. The successful work of Bishop Blenk is part of
the history of the reconstruction along American lines of the
Antilles. He returned to New Orleans as archbishop, 1 July,
1906, and new life was infused into every department of
religious and educational and charitable endeavour. Splendid new
churches and schools were erected, especially in the country
parishes. Among the new institutions were St. Joseph's Seminary
and College at St. Benedict, La.; St. Charles College, Grand
Coteau, built on the ruins of the old college destroyed by fire;
Lake Charles Sanitarium; Marquette University; and the Seaman's
Haven, where a chapel was opened for sailors. The new
sisterhoods admitted to the diocese were the Religious of the
Incarnate Word in charge of a sanatorium at Lake Charles; the
Religious of Divine Providence, in charge of the school in
Broussardville; and the French Benedictine Sisters driven from
France, who erected a new Convent of St. Gertrude at St.
Benedict, La., destined as an industrial school for girls. A
large industrial school and farm for coloured boys under the
direction of the Sisters of the Holy Family was opened in
Gentilly Road, and two new parishes outlined for the exclusive
care of the coloured race. In 1907, the seminary conducted by
the Lazarist Fathers was closed and Archbishop Blenk opened a
preparatory seminary and placed it in charge of the Benedictine
Fathers. The diocese assumed full charge of the Chinchuba
Deaf-Mute Institute, which was established under Archbishop
Janssens and is the only Catholic institute for deaf-mutes in
the South. It is in charge of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.
New Orleans' priesthood, like the population of Louisiana, is
cosmopolitan. The training of the priesthood has been conducted
at home and abroad, the diocese owing much to the priests who
come from France, Spain, Ireland, Germany and Holland. Several
efforts were made to establish a permanent seminary and recruit
the ranks of the priesthood from the diocese itself. At various
times also the diocese had students at St. Mary's and St.
Charles Seminary, Baltimore, the American College, Louvain, and
has (1910) twelve theological students in different seminaries
of Europe and America. Each parish is incorporated and there are
corporate institutions of the Jesuits and other religious
communities. The houses of study for religious are the Jesuit
scholasticate at Grand Coteau, and the Benedictine scholasticate
of St. Benedict at St. Benedict, La. The Poor Clares, Discalced
Carmelites, Benedictine Nuns, Congregation of Marianites of the
Holy Cross, Ursuline Nuns, Religious of the Sacred Heart,
Sisters of St. Joseph, Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Sisters
of the Immaculate Conception, Sisters of the Holy Family
(coloured), Sisters of Mount Carmel, have mother-houses with
novitiates in New Orleans. In early days there were distinctive
parishes in New Orleans for French-, English- and
German-speaking Catholics, but with the growing diffusion of the
English language these parish lines have disappeared. In all the
churches where necessary, there are French, English, and German
services and instructions; there are churches and chapels for
Italian immigrants and Hungarians, a German settlement at St.
Leo near Rayne, domestic missions for negroes under the charge
of the Holy Family Sisters and Josephite Fathers and Lazarists
at New Orleans and Bayou Petite, Prairie.
The educational system is well organized. The principal
institutions are: the diocesan normal school; the Marquette
University under the care of the Jesuits; 7 colleges and
academies with high school courses for boys with 1803 students;
17 academies for young ladies, under the direction of religious
communities, with 2201 students; 102 parishes and parochial
schools having an attendance of 20,000 pupils; 117 orphan
asylums with 1341 orphans; 1 infant asylum with 164 infants; 1
industrial school for whites with 90 inmates; 1 industrial
school for coloured orphan boys; 1 deaf-mute asylum with 40
inmates; 3 hospitals, 2 homes for the aged white and 1 for the
aged coloured poor; 1 house of the Good Shepherd for the reform
of wayward girls; a Seaman's Haven. The state asylums for the
blind, etc., hospitals, prisons, reformatories, almshouses, and
secular homes for incurables, consumptives, convalescents, etc.,
are all visited by Catholic priests, Sisters of Mercy,
conferences of St. Vincent de Paul, and St. Margaret's
Daughters. There is absolute freedom of worship. The first St.
Vincent de Paul conference was organized in 1852.
The diocese has one Benedictine abbey (St. Joseph's, of which
Right Rev. Paul Schäuble is abbot); 156 secular priests, 123
priests in religious communities, making a total of 279 clergy;
133 churches with resident priests and 90 missions with
churches, making a total of 223 churches; 35 stations and 42
chapels where Mass is said. The total Catholic population is
550,000; yearly baptisms include 15,155 white children, 253
white adults, 3111 coloured children, and 354 coloured adults
(total number of baptisms 18,873); the communions average
750,180; confirmations 11,215; converts, 817; marriages, 3533
(including 323 mixed). The large centers of church activity are
the cities of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Plaquemine,
Donaldsonville, Thibodeaux, Houma, Franklin, Jeannerette, New
Iberia, Lafayette, Abeeville, Morgan City, St. Martin, Crowley,
Lake Charles. The churches and schools are all insured; an
association for assisting infirm priests, the Priest's Aid
Society, has been established and mutual aid and benevolent
associations in almost every parish for the assistance of the
laity. Assimilation is constantly going on among the different
nationalities that come to New Orleans through intermarriage
between Germans, Italians, French, and Americans; and thus is
created a healthy civil sentiment that conduces to earnest and
harmonious progress along lines of religious, charitable,
educational, and social endeavour. The Catholic laity of the
diocese is naturally largely represented in the life and
government of the community, the population being so
overwhelmingly Catholic; Catholics hold prominent civil
positions such as governor, mayor, and member of the Bar, State
Legislature, and United States Congress. A Catholic from
Louisiana, Edward D. White, has been recently (1910) appointed
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Catholics are connected with state normal schools and colleges,
are on the board of the state universities and public libraries,
and are represented in the corps of professors, patrons, and
pupils of the Louisiana State and Tulane universities. Three
fourths of the teachers in the public schools of Louisiana are
Catholics.
The laity take a very active interest in the religious life of
the diocese. Every church and convent has its altar society for
the care of the tabernacle, sodalities of the Blessed Virgin for
young girls and women. The Holy Name Society for men, young and
old, is established throughout the diocese, while conferences of
St. Vincent de Paul are established in thirty churches. St.
Margaret's Daughters, indulgenced like St. Vincent de Paul, has
twenty-eight circles at work, and the Total Abstinence Society
is established in many churches. Besides the Third Order of St.
Francis, the diocese has confraternities of the Happy Death, the
Holy Face, the Holy Rosary, and the Holy Agony; the Apostleship
of Prayer is established in nearly all the churches, while many
parishes have confraternities adapted to their special needs.
The Catholic Knights of America and Knights of Columbus are
firmly established, while the Holy Spirit Society, devoted to
the defence of Catholic Faith, the diffusion of Catholic truth,
and the establishment of churches and schools in wayside places,
is doing noble work along church extension lines. Other
societies are the Marquette League, the Society for the
Propagation of the Faith, which traces its origin to Bishop
DuBourg of Louisiana, the Society of the Holy Childhood, and the
Priests' Eucharistic League. Religious life in the diocese is
regular and characterized by strict discipline and earnest
spirituality. Monthly conferences are held and ecclesiastical
conferences three times a year.
The religious communities of the diocese are: (1) Male:
Benedictines, Fathers and Brothers of the Holy Cross,
Dominicans, Jesuits, Josephites, Lazarists, Marists,
Redemptorists, and Brothers of the Sacred Heart; (2) Female:
Sisters of St. Benedict, French Benedictine Sisters, Discalced
Carmelites Nuns, Sisters of Mount Carmel, Poor Clares, Sisters
of Charity, Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Sisters of
Christian Charity, Sisters of Divine Providence, Dominican
Sisters, Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Sisters of the Holy
Family, Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Sisters of St.
Joseph, Little Sisters of the Poor, Sisters Marianites of the
Holy Cross, Sisters of Mercy, School Sisters of Notre Dame,
Sisters of Our Lady of Lourdes, Religious of the Sacred Heart,
Ursuline Sisters, Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart,
Sisters of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Coloured Catholics: The works in behalf of the coloured race
began in the earliest days of Louisiana, when the Jesuits
devoted themselves especially to the care of the Indians and
Negroes. After the expulsion of the Jesuits the King of Spain
ordered that a chaplain for negroes be placed on every
plantation. Although this was impossible owing to the scarcity
of priests, the greatest interest was taken in the
evangelization of negroes and winning them from superstitious
practices. The work of zealous Catholic masters and mistresses
bore fruit in many ways, and there remains to-day in New
Orleans, despite the losses to the Faith occasioned by the Civil
War and reconstruction period when hordes of Protestant
missionaries from the north flocked into Louisiana with millions
of dollars to proselytize the race, a strong and sturdy Catholic
element among the coloured people from which much is hoped. The
Sisters of the Holy Family, a diocesan coloured order of
religious, have accomplished much good. In addition to their
academy and orphanages for girls and boys and homes for the
coloured aged poor of both sexes, located in New Orleans, they
have a novitiate and conduct an academy in the cathedral parish
and schools in the parishes of St. Maurice, St. Louis, Mater
Dolorosa, St. Dominic and St. Catherine in New Orleans, and
schools and asylums in Madisonville, Donaldsonville, Opelusas,
Baton Rouge, Mandevilles, Lafayette, and Palmetto, Louisiana.
Schools for coloured children are also conducted by the
following white religious orders: Sisters of Perpetual
Adoration, Sisters of Mercy, Mount Carmel Sisters, Religious of
the Sacred Heart, Sisters of St. Joseph. Six coloured schools in
charge of lay Catholic teachers in various parishes, St.
Catherine's church in charge of the Lazarist Fathers, and St.
Dominic's in charge of the Josephite Fathers in New Orleans are
especially established for Catholic negroes.
Archives of the Diocese of New Orleans; Archives of the St.
Louis Cathedral; SHEA, The Cath. Church in Colonial Days (New
York, 1886); Idem, Life and Times of Archbishop Carrol (New
York, 1888); Idem, Hist. of the Cath. Church in the U. S.,
1808-85 (2 vols., New York, 1892); GAYARRâ, Hist. de la
Louisiane (2 vols, New Orleans, 1846-7); CHARLEVIOX, Journal
d'un Voyage dans l'Amerique Septentrional, VI (Paris, 1744); de
la HARPE, Journal Hist. de l'Etablissement des Français à la
Louisiane (New Orleans, 1831); KING, Sieur de Bienville (New
York, 1893); DIMITRY, Hist. of Louisiana (New York, 1892);
DUMONT, Mémoirs Histor. sur la Louisiane (Paris, 1753); LE PAGE
du PRATZ, Hist. de la L. (3 vols., Paris, 1758); FORTIER, L.
Studies (New Orleans, 1984); Idem, Hist. of L. (4 vols., New
York, 1894); MARTIN, Hist. of L. from the earliest Period
(1797); KING and FICKLEN, Hist. of L. (New Orleans, 1900);
Archives of the Ursuline Convent, New Orleans, Diary of Sister
Madeleine Hachard (New Orleans, 1727-65); Letters of Sister M.
H. (1727); Archives of Churches, Diocese of New Orleans
(1722-1909); Le Propagateur Catholique (New Orleans), files; The
Morning Star (New Orleans, 1868-1909), files; Le Moniteur de La
Louisiane (New Orleans, 1794-1803), files; French and Spanish
manuscripts in archives of Louisiana Historical Society;
CHAMBON, In and Around the Old St. Louis Cathedral (New Orleans,
1908); The Picayune (New Orleans, 1837-1909), files; CAMILLE de
ROCHEMENTEIX, Les Jésuites et la Nouvelle France au XVIIIe
Siècle (Paris, 1906); CASTELLANOS, New Orleans as it Was (New
Orleans, 1905); MEMBER of the ORDER of MERCY, Essays Educational
and Historic (New York, 1899); LOWENSTEIN, Hist. of the St.
Louis Cathedral of New Orleans (1882); MEMBER of the ORDER of
MERCY, Cath. Hist. of Alabama and the Floridas; Centenaire du
Père Antoine (New Orleans, 1885); HARDER, Religious of the
Scared Heart (New York, 1910).
MARIE LOUISE POINTS
New Pomerania, Vicariate Apostolic of
Vicariate Apostolic of New Pomerania
New Pomerania, the largest island of the Bismarck Archipelago,
is separated from New Guinea by Dampier Strait, and extends from
148º to 152º E. long. and from 4º to 7º S. lat. It is about 348
miles long, from 12½ to 92¼ miles broad, and has an area of 9650
sq. miles. Two geographical regions are distinguishable. Of the
north-eastern section (known as the Gazelle Peninsula) a great
portion is occupied by wooded mountain chains; otherwise
(especially about Blanche Bay) the soil is very fertile and
admirably watered by rivers (e. g. the Toriu and Kerawat), which
yield an abundance of fish. The white population is practically
confined to the northern part of this section, in which the
capital, Herbertshöhe, is situated. The western and larger
section also has extensive mountain chains, which contain
numerous active volcanoes. The warlike nature of the natives,
who fiercely resent as an intrusion every attempt to land, has
left us almost entirely ignorant of the interior.
The natives are finely built and coffee brown in colour, having
regular features. While resembling the southeastern Papuan, they
use weapons unknown to the latter -- e. g. the sling, in the use
of which they possess marvellous dexterity, skilfully inserting
the stone with the toes. They occupy few towns owing to the
constant feuds raging among them. One of their strangest
institutions is their money (dewarra), composed of small cowrie
shells threaded on a piece of cane. The difficulty of procuring
these shells, which are found only in very deep water, accounts
for the value set on them. The unit is usually a fathom (the
length of both arms extended) of dewarra. The tribes have no
chiefs; an individual's importance varies according to the
amount of dewarra he possesses, but the final decision for peace
or war rests with the tribe. This entire absence of authority
among the natives is a great obstacle in the way of government.
The natives are very superstitious: a demon resides in each
volcano, and marks his displeasure by sending forth fire against
the people. To propitiate the evil spirits, a piece of dewarra
is always placed in the grave with the corpse. The celebrated
institution of the Duk-Duk is simply a piece of imposture, by
which the older natives play upon the superstitions of the
younger to secure the food they can no longer earn. This
"spirit" (a native adorned with a huge mask) arrives regularly
in a boat at night with the new moon, and receives the offerings
of the natives. The standard of morality among the natives of
New Pomerania is high compared with that observed in New
Mecklenburg (the other large island of the Bismarck
Archipelago), where the laxity of morals, especially race
suicide and the scant respect shown for marriage, seems destined
rapidly to annihilate the population. In Nov., 1884, Germany
proclaimed its protectorate over the New Britain Archipelago;
New Britain and New Ireland were given the names of Neupommern
and Neumecklenburg, and the whole group was renamed the Bismarck
Archipelago. The great obstacle to the development of the
islands is their poisonous climate, neither native nor European
being immune from the ravages of fever. The native population is
estimated at about 190,000; the foreign population (1909) at 773
(474 white). About 13,464 acres are under cultivation, the
principal products being copra, cotton, coffee, and rubber.
The vicariate Apostolic was erected on 1 Jan., 1889, and
entrusted to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Issoudun.
Since Sept., 1905, when the Marshall Islands were made a
separate vicariate, its territory is confined to the Bismarck
Archipelago. The first and present vicar Apostolic is Mgr Louis
Couppé, titular Bishop of Leros. The mission has already made
remarkable progress, and numbers according to the latest
statistics 15,223 Catholics; 28 missionaries; 40 brothers; 27
Sisters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart; 55 native catechists;
77 churches and chapels; 90 stations (26 chief); 29 schools with
over 4000 pupils; 13 orphanages.
Monatshefte des Missionshauses von Hiltrup; Deutsche
Kolonialblatt (1908), suppl.' 78 sqq.
THOMAS KENNEDY.
Newport, Diocese of (England)
Diocese of Newport in England
(NEOPORTENSIS)
This diocese takes its name from Newport, a town of about 70,000
inhabitants, situated at the mouth of the river Usk, in the
county of Monmouth. Before the restoration of hierarchial
government in England by Pius IX in 1850, the old "Western
District" of England had, since 1840, been divided into two
vicariates. The northern, comprising the twelve counties of
Wales with Monmouthshire and Herefordshire, was called the
Vicariate of Wales. When the country was divided by an Apostolic
Brief dated 29 Sept., 1850, into dioceses, the six counties of
South Wales, with Monmouthshire and Herefordshire, became the
Diocese of Newport and Menevia. Menevia is the Latin name for
St. David's, and the double title was intended to signify that
at some future day there were to be two distinct dioceses. The
first bishop of the Diocese of Newport and Menevia was the Right
Reverend Thomas Joseph Brown, O.S.B., who had already, as vicar
Apostolic, ruled for ten years the Vicariate of Wales. A further
re-adjustment of the diocese was made in March, 1895, when Leo
XIII separated from it five of the counties of South Wales, and
formed a new vicariate, which was to consist of all the twelve
Welsh counties except Glamorganshire. Since that date the name
of the diocese has been simply "Newport", and it has consisted
of Glamorganshire, Monmouthshire, and Herefordshire. The
Catholic population (1910) is about 45,000, the general
population being about 1,050,000.
The diocesan chapter, in virtue of a Decree of the Congregation
of Propaganda, 21 April, 1852, issued at the petition of
Cardinal Wiseman and the rest of the hierarchy, was to consist
of monks of the English Benedictine Congregation resident in the
town of Newport. As the congregation, up to this date (1910),
have not been able to establish a house in Newport, permission
from the Holy See has been obtained for the members of the
chapter to reside at St. Michael's pro-cathedral, Belmont, near
Hereford. The chapter comprises a cathedral prior and nine
canons, of whom four are allowed to be non-resident. Their
choral habit the cuculla or frock of the congregation with a
special almuce. In assisting the bishop they dispense with the
cuculla, and wear the almuce over the surplice. The present
bishop, the Right Reverend John Cuthbert Hedley, O.S.B., was
consecrated as auxiliary on 29 September, 1873, and succeeded in
February, 1881, to Bishop Brown. He resides at Bishop's House,
Llanishen, Cardiff. The pro-cathedral is the beautiful church of
the Benedictine priory at Belmont. There are in the diocese
about 40 secular diocesan priests, 21 Benedictines (of whom 15
work on the Mission), and 14 Rosminian Fathers, There are five
deaneries. The principal towns are Cardiff, Newport, Swansea,
and Merthyr Tydvil. The only religious house of men is the
Cathedral Priory, Belmont, which is the residence of the
cathedral prior and chapter, and is also a house of studies and
novitiate for the English Benedictines. Of religious women there
are houses of Poor Clares, Our Lady of Charity, the Good
Shepherd, Sisters of Nazareth, Ursulines of Chavagnes, St.
Joseph of Annecy, St. Vincent de Paul, and others. There are
four certified Poor Law schools: one for boys, at Treforest, and
three for girls -- two, at Hereford and Bullingham respectively,
conducted by the Sisters of Charity, one at Cardiff, conducted
by the Sisters of Nazareth. There are 50 churches in the
diocese, besides several school chapels and public oratories.
There are about 11,000 children in the Catholic elementary
schools. There are four secondary schools for girls, and one
centre (in Carduff) for female pupil teachers.
F. A. CROW.
John Newton
John Newton
A soldier and engineer, born at Norfolk, Virginia, 24 August,
1823; died in New York City, 1 May, 1895. He was the son of
General Thomas Newton and Margaret Jordan. In 1838 he was
appointed from Virginia a cadet in the U. S. Military Academy,
and graduated in 1842, standing second in a class that included
Rosencrans, Pope, and Longstreet. Commissioned second lieutenant
of engineers, he was engaged as assistant professor of
engineering at West Point, and later in the construction of
fortifications and other engineering projects along the coasts
of the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. Commissioned first
lieutenant in 1852 and promoted captain in 1856, he was
appointed chief engineer of the Utah Expedition in 1858. At the
opening of the Civil War he was chief engineer of the Department
of Pennsylvania, and afterwards held a similar position in the
Department of the Shenandoah. Commissioned major on 6 August,
1861, he worked on the construction of the defences of
Washington until March, 1862. He was commissioned on 23 Sept.,
1861, brigadier-general of volunteers, and received command of a
brigade engaged in the defence of the city. He served in the
army of the Potomac under McClellan during the Peninsular
Campaign, and distinguished himself by his heroic conduct in the
actions of West Point, Gaines Mills, and Glendale. He led his
brigade in the Maryland campaign, taking part in the forcing of
Crampton Gap and in the battle of Antietam, and was for his
gallant services brevetted lieutenant-colonel of regulars. He
led a division at Fredericksburg in the storming of Marye
Heights, and was rewarded on 20 March, 1863, with the rank of
major-general of volunteers. He commanded divisions at
Chancellorsville and Salem Heights, and, at the death of
Reynolds on 2 July, 1863, was given command of the First Army
Corps, which he led on the last two days of the battle of
Gettysburg. On 3 July, 1863, for gallant service at Gettysburg,
he was brevetted colonel of regulars. He engaged in the pursuit
of the Confederate forces to Warrenton, Virginia, and towards
the end of 1863 was active in the Rapidan Campaign. In May,
1864, he was transferred to the Army of the Cumberland, and
commanded under General Thomas the Second Division, Fourth
Corps. He fought in all the actions during the invasion of
Georgia up to the capture of Atlanta. For his gallantry in this
campaign, especially in the battle of Peach Tree Creek, he was
brevetted on 13 March, 1865, major-general of volunteers and
brigadier-general and major-general of regulars. He then took
command of various districts in Florida until, in January, 1866,
he was mustered out of the volunteer service.
Commissioned lieutenant-colonel of engineers in the regular
service on 28 December, 1865, Newton was ordered in April, 1866,
to New York City, where he thenceforth resided, engaged on the
engineering labours that made his name famous. He was
superintendent engineer of the construction of the defences on
the Long Island side of the Narrows, of the improvements of the
Hudson River, and of the fortifications at Sandy Hook. He was
also one of the board of engineers deputed to carry out the
modifications of the defences around New York City. The proposed
enlargement of the Harlem River, and the improvements of the
Hudson from Troy to New York, of the channel between New Jersey
and Staten Island, and of the harbours on Lake Champlain were
put under his charge. On 30 June, 1879, he was named colonel,
and on 6 March, 1884, chief of engineers in the regular service
with the rank of brigadier-general. Among Newton's achievements,
the most notable was the removal of the dangerous rocks in Hell
Gate, the principal water-way between Long Island Sound and the
East River. To accomplish this task successfully, required the
solution of difficult engineering problems never before
attempted, and the invention of new apparatus, notably a steam
drilling machine, which has since been in general use. Newton
carefully studied the problem, and the accuracy of his
conclusions was shown by the exact correspondence of the results
with the objects sought. Hallett's Reef and Flood Rock, having
been carefully mined under his directions, were destroyed by two
great explosions (24 September, 1876; 10 October, 1885). This
engineering feat excited the universal admiration of engineers,
and many honours were conferred upon him. On Newton's voluntary
retirement from the service in 1886, Mayor Grace of New York,
recognizing his superior skill, appointed him commissioner of
public works on 28 Aug. This post he voluntarily resigned on 24
Nov., 1888. On 2 April, 1888, he accepted the presidency of the
Panama Railroad Company, which position he filled until his
death. In 1848 General Newton married Anna M. Starr of New
London, Connecticut. In his early manhood he became, and until
his death remained, an earnest and devout member of the Catholic
Church.
POWELL, List of Officers of the U. S. Army, 1776-1900; CULLUM,
Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S.
Military Academy; Appleton's Encycl. Amer. Biog., s. v.; SMITH,
In Memoriam of General John Newton (New York, 1895).
JOHN G. EWING.
New Year's Day
New Year's Day
The word year is etymologically the same as hour (Skeat), and
signifies a going, movement etc. In Semitic, the word for "year"
signifies repetition, sc. of the course of the sun (Gesenius).
Since there was no necessary starting-point in the circle of the
year, we find among different nations, and among the same at
different epochs of their history, a great variety of dates with
which the new year began. The opening of spring was a natural
beginning, and in the Bible itself there is a close relationship
between the beginning of the year and the seasons. The ancient
Roman year began in March, but Julius Caesar, in correcting the
calendar (46 B.C.), made January the first month. Though this
custom has been universally adopted among Christian nations, the
names, September, October, November, and December (i.e., the
seventh, eight, ninth, and tenth), remind us of the past, when
March began the year. Christian writers and councils condemned
the heathen orgies and excesses connected with the festival of
the Saturnalia, which were celebrated at the beginning of the
year: Tertullian blames Christians who regarded the customary
presents -- called strenae (Fr. étrennes) from the goddess
Strenia, who presided over New Year's Day (cf. Ovid, Fasti,
185-90) -- as mere tokens of friendly intercourse (De Idol.
xiv), and towards the end of the sixth century the Council of
Auxerre (can. I) forbade Christians strenas diabolicas
observare. The II Council of Tours held in 567 (can. 17)
prescribes prayers and a Mass of expiation for New Year's Day,
adding that this is a practice long in use (patres nostri
statuerunt). Dances were forbidden, and pagan crimes were to be
expiated by Christian fasts (St. Augustine, Serm., cxcvii-viii
in P.L., XXXVIII, 1024; Isidore of Seville, De Div. Off. Eccl.,
I, xli; Trullan Council, 692, can. lxii). When Christmas was
fixed on 25 Dec., New Year's Day was sanctified by commemorating
on it the Circumcision, for which feast the Gelasian
Sacramentary gives a Mass (In Octabas Domini). Christians did
not wish to make the celebration of this feast very solemn, lest
they might seem to countenance in any way the pagan extravagance
of the opening year.
Among the Jews the first day of the seventh month, Tishri (end
of September), began the civil or economic year with the sound
of trumpets (Lev., xxiii, 24; Num., xxix, 1). In the Bible the
day is not mentioned as New Year's Day, but the Jews so regarded
it, so named it, and so consider it now (Mishnah, Rosh Hash., I,
1). The sacred year began with Nisan (early in April), a later
name for the Biblical abhibh, i.e. "month of new corn", and was
memorable because in this month the Lord thy God brought thee
out of Egypt by night (Deut., xvi, 1). Barley ripens in
Palestine during the early part of April; and thus the sacred
year began with the harvest, the civil year with the sowing of
the crops. From Biblical data Josephus and many modern scholars
hold that the twofold beginning of the year was pre-exilic, or
even Mosaic (cf. Antiq., I, iii, 3). Since Jewish months were
regulated by the moon, while the ripening barley of Nisan
depended upon the sun, the Jews resorted to intercalation to
bring sun and moon dates into harmony, and to keep the months in
the seasons to which they belonged (for method of adjustment,
see Edersheim, The Temple, Its Ministry and Services at the Time
of Jesus Christ, x).
Christian nations did not agree in the date of New Year's Day.
They were not opposed to 1 January as the beginning of the year,
but rather to the pagan extravagances which accompanied it.
Evidently the natural opening of the year, the springtime,
together with the Jewish opening of the sacred year, Nisan,
suggested the propriety of putting the beginning in that
beautiful season. Also, the Dionysian method (so named from the
Abbot Dionysius, sixth century) of dating events from the coming
of Christ became an important factor in New Year calculations.
The Annunciation, with which Dionysius began the Christian era,
was fixed on 25 March, and became New Year's Day for England, in
early times and from the thirteenth century to 1 Jan., 1752,
when the present custom was introduced there. Some countries (e.
g., Germany) began with Christmas, thus being almost in harmony
with the ancient Germans, who made the winter solstice their
starting-point. Notwithstanding the movable character of Easter,
France and the Low Countries took it as the first day of the
year, while Russia, up to the eighteenth century, made September
the first month. The western nations, however, since the
sixteenth, or, at the latest, the eighteenth century, have
adopted and retained the first of January. In Christian liturgy
the Church does not refer to the first of the year, any more
than she does to the fact that the first Sunday of Advent is the
first day of the ecclesiastical year.
In the United States of America the great feast of the Epiphany
has ceased to be a holyday of obligation, but New Year continues
in force. Since the mysteries of the Epiphany are commemorated
on Christmas -- the Orientals consider the fests one and the
same in import -- it was thought advisable to retain by
preference, under the title Circumcision of Our Lord Jesus
Christ, New Year's Day as one of the six feast of obligation.
The Fathers of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore petitioned
Rome to this effect, and their petition was granted (Con. Plen.
Balt., III, pp. 105 sqq.). (See CHRONOLOGY; CHRISTMAS.).
SCHROD in Kirchenlex., s.v. Neujahr; WELTE, ibid., s.v. Feste;
ABRAHAMS in HASTINGS, Dict. Of the Bible, s.v. Time; MACDONALD,
Chronologies and Calendars (London, 1897); EDERSHEIM, The
Temple, Its Ministry and Services at the time of Jesus Christ,
x, xv; BROWNE in Dict. Christ. Antiq., s.v.; Harper's Classical
Dict. (New York, 1897), s.v. Calendarium; FEASEY, Christmastide
in Amer. Eccl. Rev. (Dec., 1909); The Old English New Year,
ibid. (Jan., 1907); THURSTON, Christmas Day and the Christian
Calendar, ibid. (Dec., 1898; Jan., 1899). For Rabbinic legends
see Jewish Encycl., s.v. New Year.
JOHN J. TIERNEY
Archdiocese of New York
Archdiocese of New York
ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK (NEO-EBORACENSIS).
See erected 8 April, 1808; made archiepiscopal 19 July, 1850;
comprises the Boroughs of Manhattan, Bronx, and Richmond in the
City of New York, and the Counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam,
Rockland, York; also the Bahama Islands (British Possessions);
an area of 4717 square miles in New York and 4466 in the Bahama
Islands. The latter territory was placed in 1886 under this
jurisdiction by the Holy See because the facilities of access
were best from New York; it formerly belonged to the Diocese of
Charleston. The suffragans of New York are the Dioceses of
Albany, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Ogdensburg, Rochester, and Syracuse
in the State of New York, and Newark and Trenton in New Jersey.
All these, in 1808, made up the territory of the original
diocese. The first division took place 23 April, 1847, when the
creation of the Diocese of Albany and Buffalo cut off the
northern and western sections of the State; and the second, in
1853, when Brooklyn and Newark were erected into separate sees.
New York is now the largest see in population, and the most
important in influence and material prosperity of all the
ecclesiastical divisions of the Church in Continental United
States.
I. COLONIAL PERIOD
Nearly a century before Henry Hudson sailed up the great river
that bears his name, the Catholic navigators Verrazano and
Gomez, had guided their ships along its shores and placed it
under the patronage of St. Anthony. The Calvinistic Hollanders,
to whom Hudson gave this foundation for a new colony, manifested
their loyalty to their state Church by ordaining that in New
Netherlands the "Reformed Christian religion according to the
doctrines of the Synod of Dordrecht" should be dominant. It is
probable, but not certain, that there were priests with
Verrazano and Gomez, and that from a Catholic altar went up the
first prayer uttered on the site of the present great metropolis
of the New World. While public worship by Catholics was not
tolerated, the generosity of the Dutch governor, William Kieft,
and the people of New Amsterdam to the Jesuit martyr, Father
Isaac Jogues, in 1643, and after him, to his brother Jesuits,
Fathers Bressani and Le Moyne, must be recognized to their
everlasting credit. Father Jogues was the first priest to
traverse the State of New York; the first to minister within the
limits of the Diocese of New York. When he reached Manhattan
Island, after his rescue from captivity in the summer of 1643,
he found there two Catholics, a young Irishman and a Portuguese
woman, whose confessions he heard.
St. Mary's, the first rude chapel in which Mass was said in the
State of New York, was begun, on 18 November, 1655, on the banks
of the lake where the City of Syracuse now stands, by the Jesuit
missionaries, Fathers Claude Dablon and Pierre Chaumonot. In the
same year another Jesuit, Father Simon Le Moyne, journeyed down
the river to New Amsterdam, as we learn from a letter sent by
the Dutch preacher, Megapolensis (a renegade Catholic), to the
Classis at Amsterdam, telling them that the Jesuit had visited
Manhattan "on account of the Papists residing here, and
especially for the accommodation of the French sailors, who are
Papists and who have arrived here with a good prize." The Church
had no foothold on Manhattan Island until after 1664, when the
Duke of York claimed it for an English colony. Twenty years
later, the Catholic governor, Thomas Dongan, not only fostered
his own faith, but enacted the first law passed in New York
establishing religious liberty. It is believed that the first
Mass said on the island (30 October, 1683) was in a chapel he
opened about where the custom house now stands. With him came
three English Jesuits, Fathers Thomas Harvey, Henry Harrison,
and Charles Gage, and they soon had a Latin school in the same
neighborhood. Of this Jacob Leisler, the fanatical usurper of
the government, wrote to the Governor of Boston, in August,
1689: "I have formerly urged to inform your Honr. that Coll
Dongan, in his time did erect a Jesuite Colledge upon cullour to
learn Latine to the Judges West -- Mr. Graham, Judge Palmer, and
John Tudor did contribute their sones for sometime but no boddy
imitating them, the colledge vanished" (O'Callaghan,
"Documentary Hist. of N.Y.", II, 23).
With the fall of James II and the advent of William of Orange to
the English throne, New York's Catholic colony was almost
stamped out by drastic penal laws (see State of New York). In
spite of them, however, during the years that followed a few
scattered representatives of the Faith drifted in and settled
down unobtrusively. To minister to them there came now and then
from Philadelphia a zealous German Jesuit missionary, Father
Ferdinand Steinmayer, who was commonly called "Father Farmer".
Gathering them together, he said Mass in the house of a German
fellow-countryman in Wall Street, in a loft in Water Street, and
wherever else they could find accommodation. Then came the
Revolution, and in this connexion, owing to one of the prominent
political issues of the time, the spirit of the leading
colonists was intensely anti-Catholic. The first flag raised by
the Sons of Liberty in New York was inscribed "No Popery". When
the war ended, and the president and Congress resided in New
York, the Catholic representatives of France, Spain, Portugal,
with Charles Carroll, his cousin Daniel, and Thomas Fitz
Simmons, Catholic members of Congress, and officers and soldiers
of the foreign contingent, merchants and others, soon made up a
respectable congregation. Mass was said for them in the house of
the Spanish minister, Don Diego de Gardoqui, on Broadway, near
the Bowling Green, in the Vauxhall Gardens, which was a hall on
the river front near Warren Street, and in a carpenter's shop in
Barclay Street. Finally, an Irish Capuchin, Father Charles
Whelan, who had served as a chaplain to the Portuguese
consul-general, Don Jose Roiz Silva, took up also the care of
this scattered flock, which numbered less than two hundred, and
only about forty of them practical in the observances of their
faith.
Through efforts led by the French consul, Hector St. John de
Crevecoeur, an act of incorporation was secured, on 10 June,
1785, for the "Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church of the City
of New York," in which Jose Roiz Silva, James Stewart, and Henry
Duffin were associated with him as the first board. An unexpired
lease of lots at Barclay and Church streets was bought from the
trustees of Trinity church, Thomas Stoughton, the Spanish
Consul-general, and his partner Dominick Lynch, advancing the
purchase money, one thousand pounds, and there on 5 Oct., 1785,
the cornerstone of St. Peter's, the first permanent structure
for a Catholic church erected in the State of New York, was laid
by the Spanish minister, Gardoqui. The church was opened 4 Nov.,
1786. The first resident pastor was Father Whelan, who, however,
was forced to retire owing to the hostility of the trustees and
of another Capuchin, the Rev. Andrew Nugent, before the Church
was opened. The prefect Apostolic, the venerable John Carroll,
then visited New York to administer confirmation for the first
time, and placed the church in charge of a Dominican, Father
William O'Brien, who may be regarded as the organizer of the
parish. He had as his assistants Fathers John Connell and
Nicholas Burke, and, in his efforts to aid the establishment of
the church, went as far as the City of Mexico to collect funds
there under the auspices of his old schoolfellow, the archbishop
of that see. He brought back $5920 and a number of paintings,
vestments, etc. Father O'Brien and his assistants did heroic
work during the yellow fever epidemics of 1795, 1799, 1801, and
1805. In 1801 he established the parish school, which has since
been carried on without interruption. The Church debt at this
time was $6500; the income from pew rents, $1120, and from
collections, $360, a year. The Rev. Dr. Matthew O'Brien, another
Dominican, the Rev. John Byrne, and the Rev. Michael Hurley, an
Augustinian, were, during this period, assistants at St.
Peter's. In July, 1807, the Rev. Louis Sibourd, a French priest,
was made pastor, but he left in the following year, and then the
famous Jesuit, Anthony Kohlman, was sent to take charge. It was
at this time that the Holy See determined to erect Baltimore
into an archbishopric and to establish the new Dioceses of New
York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown, KY.
II. CREATION OF THE DIOCESE
We have a picture of the situation in New York when the first
bishop was named: a letter sent on 8 Nov., 1808, by Father
Kohlmann, who was then acting as the administrator of the
diocese, to his friend Father Strickland, S.J., of London,
England, says, "Your favour of the 6th Sept. was delivered to me
at the beginning of October in the City of New York, where our
Right Rev. Bishop Carroll has thought proper to send me in the
capacity of rector of this immense congregation and Vicar
General of this diocese till the arrival of the Right Rev.
Richard Luke Concanen, Bishop of New York. The congregation
chiefly consists of Irish, some hundreds of French, and as many
Germans, in all according to the common estimation, of 14,000
souls. Rev. Mr. Fenwick, a young Father of our society,
distinguished for his learning and piety, has been sent along
with me. I was no sooner arrived in the city and, behold, the
trustees, though before our arrival they had not spent a cent
for the reparation and furniture of their clergyman's house,
laid out for the said purpose above $800. All men seem to revive
at the very name of the Society of Jesus, though yet little
known in this part of the country." What rapid progress was
made, he indicates, two years later, when, again writing to
Father Strickland, on 14 Sept., 1810, he tells him: "Indeed it
is but two years that we arrived in this city without having a
cent in our pocket, not even our passage money, which the
trustees paid for Father Fenwick and me . . . and to see things
so far advanced as to see not only the Catholic religion highly
respected by the first characters of the city, but even a
Catholic college established, the house well furnished both in
town and in the college improvements made in the college (sic)
for four or five hundred dollars . . . is a thing which I am at
a loss to conceive and which I cannot ascribe but to the
infinite liberality of the Lord, to whom alone, therefore, be
all glory and honour. The college is in the centre not of Long
Island but of the Island of New York, the most delightful and
most healthy spot of the whole island, at a distance of four
small miles from the city, and of half a mile from the East and
North rivers, both of which are seen from the house; situated
between two roads which are very much frequented, opposite to
the botanic gardens which belong to the State. It has adjacent
to it a beautiful lawn, garden, orchard, etc." This spot is now
the site of St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth avenue.
We can judge from the family names on the register of St.
Peter's church that the early Catholics of New York were largely
Irish; next in number come the French, then the Germans,
followed by those of Italians, Spanish and English origin. There
were enough Germans in 1808 to think themselves entitled to a
church and pastor of their own nationality, for on 2 March of
that year Christopher Briehill, John Kneringer, George Jacob,
Martin Nieder, and Francis Werneken signed a petition which they
sent to Bishop Carroll praying him "to send us a pastor who is
capable of undertaking the spiritual Care of our Souls in the
German Language, which is our Mother Tongue. Many of us do not
know any English at all, and these who have some knowledge of it
are not well enough versed in the English Language as to attend
Divine Service with any utility to themselves. As we have not
yet a place of worship of our own, we have made application to
the Trustees of the English Catholic Church in this city to
grant us permission to perform our worship in the German
Language in their church at such times as not to interfere with
their regular services. This permission they have readily
granted us. During the Course of the year we shall take care to
find an opportunity to provide ourselves with a suitable
building of our own, for we have no doubt that our number will
soon considerably increase." Nothing came of this petition, and
no separate German congregation was organized in New York until
a quarter of a century after its date. But Father Kohlmann saw
to it that another church should be started, and St. Patrick's
was begun "between the Broadway and the Bowery road" in 1809, to
meet the needs of the rapidly increasing number of Catholics on
the east side of the city. It was also to serve as the cathedral
church of the new diocese. The corner-stone was laid 8 June,
1809, but, owing to the hard times and the war of 1812 with
England, the structure was not ready for use until May, 1815,
when it was dedicated by Bishop Cheverus who came from Boston
for that purpose. It was then far on the outskirts of the city,
and, to accustom the people to go there, Mass was said at St.
Peter's every other Sunday. The ground on which it was built was
purchased in 1801 for a graveyard, and the interments in it from
that time until the cemetery was closed in 1833 numbered 32,153.
Some of the Catholic laymen prominent during this period were
Andrew Morris, Matthew Reed, Cornelius Heeney, Thomas Stoughton,
Dominick Lynch, Benjamin Disobrey, Peter Burtsell, uncle of the
Rev. James A. Neil, the first native of New York to be admitted
to the priesthood, Joseph Icard, merchant and architect, Hugh
McGinnis, Dennis Doyle, Miles F. Clossey, Anthony Trapanni, a
native of Meta, Italy, pioneer Italian merchant and the first
foreigner to be naturalized under the Constitution, Francis
Varet, John B. Lasala, Francis Cooper, George Gottsberger,
Thomas O'Connor, Thomas Brady, Dr. William James Maneven, and
Bernard Dornin, the first Catholic publisher, for whose edition
of Pastorini's "History of the Church," issued in 1807, there
were 318 New York City subscribers.
III. THE HIERARCHY
A. When Bishop Carroll learned that it was the intention of the
Holy See to recognize the growth of the Church in the United
states by dividing the Diocese of Baltimore and creating new
sees, he advised that New York be placed under the care of the
Bishop of Boston till a suitable choice could be made for that
diocese. Archbishop Troy of Dublin, however, induced Pius VII to
appoint as New York's first bishop an Irish Dominican, Father
Richard Luke Concanen, who had resided many years in Rome as the
agent of the Irish bishops and was much esteemed there. He was
prior of St. Clement's at Rome, librarian of the Minerva, and
distinguished for his learning. He had refused a nomination for
a see in Ireland and was much interested in the missions in
America, about which he had kept up a correspondence with Bishop
Carroll. It was at his suggestion that Father Fenwick founded
the first house of the Dominicans in Kentucky. He was
consecrated first Bishop of New York at Rome, 24 April, 1808,
and some time after left for Leghorn on his way to his see,
taking with him the pallium for Archbishop Carroll. After
waiting there for a ship for four months he returned to Rome.
Thence he went to Naples, expecting to sail from that port, but
the French military forces in possession of the city detained
him as a British subject, and, while waiting vainly to be
released, he died of fever, 19 June, 1810. Finding that he could
not leave Italy, he had asked the pope to appoint the Rev.
Ambrose Marechal to be his coadjutor bishop in New York. The
American bishops cordially endorsed this choice and considered
that the appointment would be made. Archbishop Carroll, writing
to Father C. Plowden, of London, 25 June, 1815, said: "It was
known here that before the death of Dr. Concanen his Holiness at
the Dr's entreaty intended to assign him as his coadjutor the
Rev. Mr. Marechal, a priest of St. Sulpice, now in the Seminary
here, and worthy of any promotion in the Church. We still
expected that this measure would be pursued; and that we made no
presentation or recommendation of any other for the vacant see."
B. Archbishop Troy, of Dublin, however, with the other Irish
bishops, proposed to the pope another Irish Dominican, the Rev.
John Connolly, for the vacant see of New York, and he was
consecrated at Rome, 6 Nov., 1814. It was a selection which
might have proved embarrassing to American Catholics, for Bishop
Connolly was a British subject, and the United States was then
at war with Great Britain. "I wish," wrote Archbishop Carroll to
Father Plowden, 25 June, 1815, "this may not become a very
dangerous precedent fruitful of mischief by drawing upon our
religion a false opinion of the servility of our principles."
Owing to his own views of the situation in the diocese, Bishop
Connolly did not announce his appointment to his fellow-members
of the hierarchy or to the administrator of the diocese. Father
Kohlmann was, therefore, in anticipation of the bishop's
arrival, recalled by his superiors to Maryland, the college was
closed, and the other Jesuits soon after left the diocese.
Finally, Bishop Connolly arrived in New York unannounced, and
without any formal local welcome, 24 Nov., 1815, his ship taking
sixty-eight days to make the voyage from Dublin. In the diocese
he found that everything was to be created from resources that
were very small and in spite of obstacles that were very great.
The diocese embraced the whole State of New York and half of New
Jersey. There were but four priests in this territory. Lay
trustees had become so accustomed to having their own way that
they were not disposed to admit even the authority of a bishop.
Dr. Connolly was not wanting in firmness, but the pressing needs
of the times, forcing an apparent concession to the established
order of things, subjected him to much difficulty and many
humiliations. He was a missionary priest rather than a bishop,
as he wrote Cardinal Litta, Prefect of Propaganda, in February,
1818, but he discharged all his laborious duties with humility
and earnest zeal. His diary further notes that he told the
cardinal: "I found here about 13,000 Catholics . . . At present
there are about 16,000 mostly Irish; at least 10,000 Irish
Catholics arrived at New York only within these last three
years. They spread through all the other states of this
confederacy, and make their religion known everywhere. Bishops
ought to be granted to whatever here is willing to erect a
Cathedral, and petition for a bishop . . . The present dioceses
are quite too extensive. This burden hinders us from supporting
a sufficient number of priests, or from thinking to erect a
seminary. The American youth have an invincible repugnance to
the ecclesiastical state."
He made a visitation of the diocese, no mean accomplishment at
that time; provided churches for the people in Brooklyn,
Buffalo, Albany, Utica, and Paterson; introduced the Sisters of
Charity, started the orphan asylum, and encouraged the opening
of parish schools. He died at his residence, 512 Broadway, 5
Feb., 1825, worn out by is labours and anxieties. Notable men of
this period were Fathers Michael O'Gorman and Richard Bulger --
the latter the first priest ordained in New York (1820) --
Charles D. Ffrench, John Power, John Farnan, Thomas C. Levins,
Philip Larisey and John Shannahan. There were several
distinguished converts, including Mother Seton, founder of the
American branch of the Sisters of Charity; the Rev. Virgil
Barber and his wife, the Rev. George E. Ironside, Keating
Lawson, and others. Two years elapsed before the next bishop was
appointed, and the Rev. Dr. John Power during that period
governed the diocese as administrator. Brooklyn's first church
was organized during this time. It was during Bishop Connolly's
administration also, that New York's first Catholic paper "The
Truth Teller" was started, on 2 April, 1825.
C. The choice of the Holy See for the third bishop was the Rev.
Dr. John Dubois, president of Mount St. Mary's College,
Emmitsburg and he was consecrated at Baltimore, 29 October,
1826. The Rev. William Taylor, a convert who had come from Cork,
Ireland, in June, 1818, at the suggestion of Bishop England of
Charleston, endeavoured to be himself made bishop, going to Rome
in January, 1820, for that purpose. The visit to Rome being
fruitless, Taylor went to Boston, where he remained several
years with Bishop Cheverus, returning to New York when that
prelate was transferred to France. He was exceedingly popular
with non-Catholics because of his liberality. He preached the
sermon at the consecration of Bishop Dubois and used the
occasion to expatiate on what he called "disastrous experiences
which resulted to religion from injudicious appointments",
hinting at coming trouble for the bishop in New York. He left
New York simultaneously with the arrival of the bishop there,
and sailed for France, where his old friend Mgr. Cheverus, then
Archbishop of Bordeaux, received him. He died suddenly, while
preaching in the Irish college, Paris, in 1828.
None of the predicted disturbances happened when Bishop Dubois
took possession of his see, though the abuse of trusteeism,
grown more and more insolent and unmanageable by toleration,
hampered his efforts from the very start. Fanaticism was aroused
among the Protestant sects, alarmed at the numerical increase of
the Church through the immigration attracted by the commercial
growth of the State. But in spite of all, he went on bravely
visiting all parts of the State, building and encouraging the
building of churches wherever they were needed, obtaining aid
from Rome and from the charitable in Europe. He found but two
churches in the city when he came; to these he added six others
and multiplied for his flock the facilities for practising their
religion, his constant endeavour being to give his people
priests, churches, and schools. With the trustees in New York
City and in Buffalo he had many sad experiences, but he
unflinchingly upheld his constituted authority. In 1834 he
organized, with the Rev. John Raffeiner as pastor, the first
German Catholic congregation in New York in a small disused
Baptist church at Pitt and De Lancey Streets, which became the
church of St. Nicholas. It was about this time, too, that a
public controversy over Catholic doctrine raged between the
Calvinist ministers, Rev. John Breckenridge and Rev. William
Brownlee, and the vicar-general, Rev. Dr. Power, assisted by
Fathers Varela, Levins, and Schneller. It was followed by the
fanatical attack on Catholic religious communities known as "The
Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk". Dr. Dubois "had then reached
the age of seventy and, though still a vigorous combatant when
necessary, was disinclined to religious controversy. Perhaps he
did not understand the country and the people as well as the
younger men who had grown up in America; perhaps he was deterred
by his memories of the French Revolution" (Hebermann, "His.
Records and Studies", I, Pt. 2, 333).
At length the many burdens and anxieties of his charge told on
the bishop, and he asked for a coadjutor, naming the Right Rev.
P. F. Kenrick, Coadjutor of Philadelphia, as his first choice,
and the Rev. Thomas F. Mulledy, S.J., and the Rev. John Hughes,
of Philadelphia, as alternates. Father Hughes, of Philadelphia,
who had been his pupil at Emmitsburg, was selected and
consecrated titular Bishop of Basileo, 7 January, 1838. His
youth and vigour soon put new life into the affairs of the
Church in New York, and were especially efficient in meeting the
aggressions of the lay trustees. Bishop Hughes had fully
realized the dangers of the system as shown in Philadelphia, and
he lost no time in meeting and crushing it in New York. Bishop
Dubois, through ill health, had to relinquish the details of his
charge more and more to his youthful assistant, whose activity
he warmly welcomed. Several attacks of paralysis warned him to
give up the management of the diocese. His remaining days he
spent quietly preparing for the end, his coadjutor ever treating
him with respectful kindness and sympathy. He died 20 December,
1840, full of years and merits. Those of his assistants who were
notably prominent were Father Felix Varela, an eminently pious
and versatile priest, an exile from Cuba, and the Revs. Joseph
Schneller, Dr. Constantine C. Pise, Alexander Mupietti, John
Raffeiner, the pioneer German pastor; Hatton Walsh, P. Malou, T.
Maguire, Michael Curran, Gregory B. Pardow, Luke Berry, John N.
Neumann, later a Redemptorist and Bishop of Philadelphia, and
John Walsh, long pastor of St. James, Brooklyn.
D. Bishop Hughes, the administrator, at once assumed the title
of the see as its fourth bishop, and is the really great figure
in the constructive period of New York's history. "It was a day
of great men in the civil order", says the historian, Dr. John
Gilmary Shea, "the day of Clay, Webster, Calhoun, yet no man of
that era spoke so directly or so effectively to the American
people as Bishop Hughes. He was not an ordinary man. It had been
well said that in any assemblage he would have been notable. He
was full of noble thoughts and aspirations and devoted to the
Church; every plan and every project of his mind aimed at the
greater good of the country". The story of his eventful career
is told in a separate article, and it will suffice to mention
here some of the many distinguished men who helped to make his
administration so important in local records. Among them were
the Rev. William Quarter, afterwards first Bishop of Chicago,
and his brother, the Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, first Bishop of
Hartford; the Rev. John Loughlin, first Bishop of Brooklyn; the
Rev. James R. Bayley, first Bishop of Newark and Archbishop of
Baltimore; the Rev. David Bacon, first Bishop of Portland; the
Rev. William G. McCloskey, first rector of the American College
at Rome and fourth Bishop of Louisville, Ky., son of one of the
Brooklyn pioneers; the Rev. Andrew Byrne, first Bishop of Little
Rock; the Rev. John J. Conroy, Bishop of Albany; the Rev.
William Starrs, vicar-general; the Rev. Dr. Ambrose Manahan, the
Rev. John Kelley (Eugene Kelly's brother), who went as a
missionary to Africa and then became first pastor at Jersey
City. These are only a few of the names that are prominent.
Among the notable converts of this period may be mentioned the
Rev. Thomas S. Preston, J. V. Huntington, F.E. White, Donald
McLeod, Isaac T. Hecker, A. F. Hewit, Alfred Young, Clarence
Walworth, and Edgar P. Wadhams, later Bishop of Ogdensburg.
E. As the successor of Archbishop Hughes, Bishop John McCloskey
of Albany was promoted to be the second archbishop. He had been
consecrated Coadjutor of New York, with the right of succession,
in 1844, but resigned both offices to become the first bishop of
Albany in 1847 (see MCCLOSKEY, JOHN). He returned to New York in
spite of his own protests of unworthiness, but with the
unanimous approval and rejoicing of the clergy and laity. He was
born in Brooklyn, 10 March, 1810, and was therefore the first
native bishop, as he was the second native of New York to be
ordained to the priesthood. He was a gentle, polished, amiable
prelate, and accomplished much for the progress of Catholic New
York. The Protectory, the Founding Asylum, and the Mission of
the Immaculate Virgin for homeless children were founded under
his auspices; he resumed work on the new Cathedral, and saw its
completion; the provincial seminary at Troy was organized;
churches, schools, and charitable institutions were everywhere
increased and improved. In the stimulation of a general
appreciation of the necessity of Catholic education the cardinal
(he was elevated to the Purple in 1875) was incessant and most
vigorous. He saw that the foundations of the structure, laid
deep by his illustrious predecessor, upheld an edifice in which
all the requirements of modern educational methods should be
found. Like him, also, as years crept on, he asked for a
coadjutor, and the Bishop of Newark, Michael Augustine Corrigan,
was sent to him.
F. Born in Newark, 31 August, 1839, his college days were spent
at Mt. St. Mary's, Emmitsburg, and at Rome. Ordained in 1863,
Bishop Corrigan became president of Seton Hall College in 1868,
Bishop of Newark in 1873, Coadjutor of New York in 1880, and
archbishop in 1885. He died, from an accidental fall during the
building of the Lady Chapel at the Cathedral, 5 May, 1902. It
was said of him by the New York "Evening Post": "The memory of
his life distils a fragrance like to that of St. Francis." By
some New Yorkers he was for a time a much misunderstood man,
whose memory time will vindicate. Acute thinkers are
appreciating his worth as a civilian as well as a churchman, and
the fact that, for Catholics, he grappled with the first
menacing move of Socialism and effectually and permanently
checked its advance. He was an administrator of ability and,
socially, a man of winning personality. To the serious problem
of providing for the spiritual need of the inrushing thousands
of European immigrants he gave successful consideration. The
splendid seminary at Dunwoodie is his best memorial. Its
beautiful chapel he built at a cost of $60,000 -- his whole
private inherited fortune. During his administration controversy
over the school question was waged with a certain amount of
acrimony. He was regarded as the leader of those all over the
country who stood for uncompromising Catholic education.
Archbishop Corrigan was also drawn into conflict with the Rev.
Dr. Edward McGlynn, rector of St. Stephen's church, a man of
considerable ability, but whose radical views on the ownership
of land had brought on him the official censure of Cardinal
Simeoni, Prefect of Propaganda. In the municipal election of
1886, in spite of the archbishop's warnings, he became the open
partisan of Henry George who was the candidate for mayor of the
Single Tax Party. As a consequence, he was suspended, and, as an
alumnus of the College of Propaganda, was summoned to Rome to
answer the charges made against him. He refused to go and was
excommunicated. -- For details and tect of official letters, see
Archbishop Corrigan's statement to New York papers (21 January,
1887) and Dr. McGlynn's formal answer in Henry George's
"Standard" (5 February, 1887). -- Dr. McGlynn's partisans
organized themselves into what they called the Anti-Poverty
Society. He addressed this body every Sunday until about
Christmas, 1892, when, having willingly accepted the conditions
laid down by the pope, he was absolved from censure and
reconciled by Mgr Satolli, the Apostolic delegate. According to
a published statement by Mgr Satolli, the conditions were in
this form: "Dr. McGlynn had presented a brief statement of his
opinions on moral-economic matters, and it was judged not
contrary to the doctrine constantly taught by the Church, and as
recently confirmed by the Holy Father in the encyclical 'Rerum
Novarum'. Also it is hereby made known that Dr. McGlynn, besides
publicly professing his adherence to all the doctrines and
teachings of the Catholic Church, has expressed regret (saying
that he would be the first to regret it) for any word or act of
his that may have seemed lacking in the respect due to
ecclesiastical authority, and he hereby intends to repair as far
as he can any offense which may have been given to Catholics.
Finally, Dr. McGlynn has of his own free will declared and
promised that, within the limits of a not long period of time,
he will go to Rome in the spirit and intention which are
becoming to a good Catholic and a priest." In 1894 Dr. McGlynn
was appointed pastor of St. Mary's church, Newburg, where he
remained quietly until his death in 1901.
Archbishop Corrigan made his last visit ad limina in 1890 and
after his return, until his death in 1902, devoted himself
entirely to the duties of his high office. His death brought out
the fact that he was the foremost figure of the community in the
respect and affection of his fellow-citizens. His unassuming
personality and his gentle method, his considerate kindness and
his unaffected piety were pathways t the love and veneration of
his flock. His steadfast adherence to principle, as well as his
persuasive manner of, not only teaching, but also of acting out
the doctrines of his religion, his profound scholarship, his
experienced judgment, were ever employed when there was a
question of a religious, moral, or civil import to his
fellow-men. The truth of this is to be found in the testimony of
Leo XIII, himself, of the civil dignitaries of the land, of his
brethren in the episcopate, of his own clergy and laity, on the
mournful occasion of his death. Under the second and third
archbishops, Mgr William Quinn, V.G., was a prominent figure,
and among his associates of this era were Mgr Thomas S. Preston,
Mgr Arthur J. Donnelly, Mgr James McMahon, Mgr P. F. McSweeny,
Fathers Farrelly, Eugene McGuire, Thomas Farrell, Edward J.
O'Reilly, M.J. O'Farrell, (later Bishop of Trenton), and Edmund
Aubril.
G. As fourth archbishop, the Holy See confirmed the choice of
the diocesan electors, and appointed to fill the vacancy the
auxiliary, the Right Rev. John Murphy Farley, titular Bishop of
Zeugma, who was promoted to the archbishopric 15 September,
1902. He was born at Newton Hamilton, County Armagh, Ireland, 20
April, 1842. His primary studies were made at St. McCartan's
College, Monaghan, and, on his coming to New York, were
continued at St. John's College, Fordham. Thence he went to the
provincial seminary at Troy for his philosophy course, and after
this to the American College, Rome, where he was ordained priest
11 June, 1870. Returning to New York, he ministered as an
assistant in St. Peter's parish, Staten Island, for two years,
and in 1872 was appointed secretary to the then Archbishop
McCloskey, in which office he served until 1884, when he was
made pastor of St. Gabriel's church, New York City. He
accompanied the cardinal to Rome in 1878, for the election of
Leo XIII, which event, however, took place before their arrival.
In 1884 he was made a private chamberlain; in 1892 he was
promoted to the domestic prelacy, and in 1895 to be prothonotary
apostolic. In 1891 he was chosen vicar-general of the diocese by
Archbishop Corrigan, and, on 21 December, 1895, was consecrated
as his auxiliary, with the title of Bishop of Zeugma. At the
death of Archbishop Corrigan, he was appointed his successor, 15
Sept., 1902, and Pius X named him assistant at the pontifical
throne in 1904. He made progress in Catholic education in the
diocese the keynote of his administration, and within the first
eight years added nearly fifty parochial schools to the primary
list, encouraged the increase also of high schools and founded
Cathedral College as a preparatory seminary.
In the proceedings of the annual convention of the Catholic
Educational Association held in New York in 1903, and of the
National Eucharistic Congress in 1904, Archbishop Farley took a
most active and directive part. Synods were held regularly every
third year, and theological conferences quarterly, to give
effect to every instruction and legislative act of the Holy See.
A monthly recollection for all the priests of the diocese
assembled together was instituted. Provision was made for the
religious needs of Italians and other Catholic immigrants -- the
Italian portion of his flock numbering about 400,000 souls. The
great work of issuing The Catholic Encyclopedia owed its
inception and progress to his help and stimulus. The centenary
of the erection of the diocese was celebrated under his
direction by a magnificent festival lasting a week (April 27-May
2, 1908); the Lady Chapel of the Cathedral was completed, the
Cathedral debt was paid off, and the edifice consecrated 5
October, 1910, Cardinal Vincenzo Vannutelli, papal legate to the
Twenty-first Eucharistic Congress, Cardinal Logue, Primate of
All Ireland, Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore, 70 prelates, 1000
priests, and an immense congregation of the laity being present
at the Mass of the day. Archbishop Farley was given an auxiliary
in the Right Rev. Thomas F. Cusack, who was consecrated titular
Bishop of Themiscyra, 25 April, 1904. Bishop Cusack was born in
New York, 22 Feb., 1862, and made his classical course at St.
Francis Xavier's College where he graduated in 1880. His
theological studies were pursued at the provincial seminary,
Troy, where he was ordained priest in 1865. He was a very
successful director of the Diocesan-Apostolate (1897-1904)
before his consecration as bishop, after which he was appointed
Rector of St. Stephen's parish.
IV. DIOCESAN INSTITUTIONS
The Cathedral. St. Patrick's Cathedral, standing on the crest of
New York's most magnificent thoroughfare, is the noblest temple
ever dedicated, in any land, to the honour of the Apostle of
Ireland. It is an edifice of which every citizen of the great
metropolis is justly proud. Its style is the decorated and
geometric Gothic of which the cathedrals of Reims, Amiens, and
Cologne are prominent examples. It was planned in 1853 by James
Renwick of New York; construction was begun in 1858, and the
building was formally opened and dedicated on 25 May, 1879
(building operations having been suspended, owing to the Civil
War, from 1861-66). The site of the cathedral, the block bounded
by Fifth Avenue, Fiftieth Street, Fourth Avenue, and Fifty-first
Street, has been in the possession of the church authorities,
and used for ecclesiastical purposes, except during a very brief
interval (1821-1828), since 1 March, 1810. The block on which
the Cathedral stands was purchased at its then marketable value
and therefore never was a gift or donation of the city, as has
been said sometimes, either ignorantly or even with conscious
malice. The corner-stone was laid on the afternoon of Sunday, 15
August, 1858, by Archbishop Hughes, in the presence of an
assemblage estimated at one hundred thousand. The address
delivered by the archbishop is regarded as one of the most
eloquent and memorable ever uttered. The gathering may be
considered the first public manifestation of that great Catholic
New York which became the wonder and admiration of the
nineteenth century, and it lent inspiration and power to the
magic of his ringing words of joy and triumph.
St. Patrick's Cathedral is the eleventh in size among the great
churches of the world. Its dimensions are as follows, the Lady
Chapel excluded: Exterior:--Extreme length (with Lady Chapel),
398 feet; extreme breadth, 174 feet; general breadth, 132 feet;
towers at base, 32 feet; height of towers, 330 feet.
Interior:--Length, 370 feet; breadth of nave and choir
(including chapels), 120 feet; length of transept, 140 feet;
central aisle, 48 feet wide, 112 feet high; side aisles, 24 feet
wide, 54 feet high; chapels 18 feet wide, 14 feet high, 12 feet
deep. the foundations are of very large blocks of gneiss, which
were laid in cement mortar up to the level of the surface. Above
the ground-line, the first base-course is of granite, as is also
the first course under all the columns and marble works of the
interior. Above this base-course the whole exterior of the
building is of white marble. The cost of the building was about
four million dollars. In the original plan there was an apsidal
Lady Chapel, but work on this was not begun until 20 July, 1901,
during the administration of Archbishop Corrigan. It was
finished by Archbishop Farley in 1906. The architect was Charles
T. Mathews whose design was thirteenth-century French Gothic.
This chapel is 56.5 feet long by 28 feet wide and 56 feet high.
The building of the Lady Chapel was started by a memorial gift
for that purpose from the family of Eugene Kelly, the banker,
who died in New York, 19 Dec., 1894. Eugene Kelly was born in
County Tyrone, Ireland, 25 Nov., 1808, and emigrated to New York
in 1834. Here he engaged in the drygoods business, and later at
St. Louis, Mo., whence he went to California in 1850 during the
gold excitement. As a banker and merchant there, he amassed a
considerable fortune the interests of which took him back to New
York to live in 1856. He was a trustee of the Cathedral for
several terms and identified with the Catholic charitable,
educational, and social movements of the city. In the crypt of
the chapel the deceased archbishops are buried and the vault of
the Kelly family is at the rear of the sacristy under the
Chapel.
Education. In the cause of Catholic education the Diocese of New
York can claim the proud distinction of being the pioneer, the
unceasing and uncompromising advocate. In 1685 the Jesuit
Fathers Harvey and Harrison began the first Catholic educational
institution in the state; the New York Latin School, which stood
near the present site of Trinity Church, Wall Street and
Broadway, and was attended by the sons of the most influential
colonial families. This school was closed by the fanatical
intolerance which followed the Dongan administration in 1638. In
1801, Father Matthew O'Brien, O.P., pastor of St. Peter's
church, opened the free school of the parish which has been
carried on ever since without interruption. During the first
five years it was supported entirely by the people of the
parish, but in 1806 the legislature of the state, by an act
passed 21 March, placed the school on the same footing as those
of other religious denominations in the city; all of them
received its share of the public money. After St. Patrick's
church was commenced, father Kohlmann, S.J. began the New York
Literary Institution, the first collegiate school of the
diocese, in a house on Mott Street, opposite the church. It was
an immediate success, and was soon removed to a house on
Broadway, and then, in March, 1812, to a suburban site in the
village of Elgin, now Fiftieth Street and Fifth Avenue, the site
of St. Patrick's Cathedral. Although well patronized by the best
families of the city, the inability of the Jesuit community to
keep up the teaching staff forced the abandonment of the
enterprise in 1815. to supply teachers for girls, Father
Kohlmann secured several Ursuline Nuns from Cork, Ireland, who
arrived in the city 9 April, 1812. Their convent was located
near the Literary Institution, and the Legislature, by the Act
of 25 March, 1814, incorporated "The Ursuline Convent of the
City of New York", by which "Christine Fagan, Sarah Walsh, Mary
Baldwin and others are incorporated for the purpose of teaching
poor children". After a year, as no other subjects joined their
community, and they were no satisfied with the location, which
was too remote from the city for them to receive daily spiritual
direction from a chaplain, these nuns gave up the school and
returned to Ireland.
With the advent of Bishop Connolly to the diocese (24 November,
1815) St. Patrick's parochial school was opened in the basement
of the cathedral. The "Catholic Almanac" for 1822 relates that
"there are in this city two extensive Catholic schools conducted
upon a judicious plan and supported partly by the funds of the
State and partly by moneys raised twice a year by the two
congregations". The report of the trustees of St. Peter's church
to the superintendent of common schools, in 1824, states that
the average number of scholars in St. Peter's and St. Patrick's
schools from their opening had been about 500 each. These two
were the pioneer schools of that great Catholic parochial system
of free schools throughout the diocese which has been the
example and stimulus for Catholic education all over the United
States. On 28 June, 1817, three Sisters of Charity, sent to her
native city by Mother Seton, arrived in New York from Emmitsburg
to take charge of the orphan asylum and school of St. Patrick's
church. In 1830 these Sisters of Charity took charge of St.
Peter's school and opened two academies. In 1816, owing to the
conflict between the French rule of their institute, forbidding
the care of boys, and other details of discipline which greatly
interfered with diocesan progress, Bishop Hughes received
permission to organize an independent community with diocesan
autonomy. This was established 8 December, 1846, with the
election of Mother Elizabeth Boyle as the first superior. The
novitiate was opened at 35 East Broadway, but in 1847 was moved
to Fifth Avenue and One Hundred and Fifth Street, where the
academy for girls and mother-house of Mount St. Vincent was
established. Ten years later the city took this property for
Central Park, and the community moved to the banks of the
Hudson, just below Yonkers, where the College of Mount St.
Vincent, and the headquarters of the community now are. There
are about eighteen hundred of these sisters teaching in more
than sixty parish schools and in charge of diocesan
institutions.
In 1841 a community of the Religious of the Sacred Heart was
sent to the diocese by Mother Barat, and established their first
school at Houston and Mulberry Streets. A year later this was
moved to Astoria, Long Island, and in 1846 to the present site
of the convent at Manhattanville, where, under the direction,
for many years, of the famous Mother Mary Aloysia Hardey, it
became, not only a popular educational institution but the cetre
whence radiated most of the progress made by the Institute
throughout the United States. When the first Religious of the
Sacred Heart arrived in New York, 31 July, 1827, on their way
from France to make the first foundation in the United States at
St. Louis, Missouri, Bishop Dubois was most favourably impressed
by them, and wished to have a community for New York also. A
letter which he wrote to Mother Barat in the following October
expresses this desire and gives a view of his charge at that
time. "It was my intention", he says, "to visit you and your
pious associates in Paris in order to give you a better idea of
our country before asking you to establish a house in New York.
There is no doubt as to the success of an order like yours in
this city; indeed it is greatly needed; but a considerable sum
of money would be required to supply the urgent needs of the
foundation. The Catholic population, which averages over thirty
thousand souls, is very poor, besides chiefly composed of Irish
emigrants. Contributions from Protestants are so uncertain and
property in this city so expensive that I cannot promise any
assistance. All I can say is that I believe one of your schools,
commenced with sufficient money to purchase property and support
itself until the ladies have time to make themselves known,
would succeed beyond all our expectations....I have the sorrow
of witnessing an abundant harvest rotting in the earth, through
lack of Apostolic labourers and the necessary funds to organize
the various needs of the diocese." Although Bishop Dubois was
not able to accompli his desire to have a school then
established, his prophecy as to its success when it was opened
was amply justified by subsequent results.
The Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Dominic, School Sisters of
Notre Dame, and other teaching communities followed in the
course of the succeeding years, until now (1910) the parish
schools of the archdiocese are in charge of twenty-six different
religious communities, twenty-two of Sisters and four of
Brothers. In 1829 an Irishman named James D. Boylan with the
approbation of Bishop Dubois attempted to establish a religious
community on the lines of the Irish Brothers of Charity to teach
the boys' schools, and opened two schools. The attempt failed in
the course of the year, owing to want of business tact and the
inimical spirit of trusteeism. The Christian Brothers opened
their first school in New York in September, 1848, in St.
Vincent de Paul's parish, at 16 East Canal Street. La Salle
Academy was opened in Canal Street in 1850, moved to Mulberry
Street in 1856 and East Second Street in 1857. Manhattan College
was opened in 1853. These Brothers have charge also of the De La
Salle Institute, the Classon Point Military Academy, twenty-six
parish schools, and the great Catholic Protectory. Bishop
Hughes, in 1846, invited the Jesuits to return to the diocese
and take charge of St. John's College and Seminary at Fordham,
which he had opened there in the old Rose Hill manor house, 24
June, 1841. The seminary was moved to Troy in 1864, and St.
John's remained as part of Fordham University. St. Francis
Xavier's College was begun at the school of the church of the
Holy Name of Jesus, Elizabeth Street, and finally located in
West Sixteenth Street in 1850. Loyola School was opened by the
Jesuits in 1899 at Park Avenue and Fifty-third street.
As has been said, the state appropriation for education was
divided at first among all schools. Public education in New
York, at the opening of the nineteenth century, was
denominational, and under the direction of the Public School
Society organized in 1805 "to provide a free school for the
education of poor children in the city who do not belong to, or
are not provided for by any religious denomination". In 1808 the
name was changed to the "Free School Society of New York" and
again in 1826 to the "Public School Society of New York", with
power "to provide for the education of all children not
otherwise provided for". This society gradually became, under
the control of intolerant sectarian ministers, a combination
against Catholic interests so that, when, in 1840, the eight
Catholic parish schools, with an attendance of about 4000
pupils, made a demand for the share of the school appropriations
to which the law entitled them, it was refused by the Board of
Aldermen after a memorable hearing of the Catholic petition in
the City Hall on 29-30 October, 1840, at which Bishop Hughes
made one of his greatest oratorical efforts. As a result of this
contest the Public School Society was soon after abolished, and
the present system of public school control was enacted. The
Catholics of New York also determined to organize and maintain
their own system of free parish schools. "Go", Bishop Hughes
told them, "build your own schools; raise arguments in the shape
of the best educated and most moral citizens of the Republic,
and the day will come when you will enforce recognition".
To supply priests for the diocese Bishop Dubois established a
seminary at Nyack-on-Hudson, in 1833, but it was burned down
just as it was ready to be opened. Cornelius Heeney then offered
the bishop the ground in Brooklyn on which St. Paul's church now
stands, refusing, however, to give the diocese the title to the
property immediately, and the design to build in Brooklyn was
abandoned. In 1838 the estate of John Lafarge, Grovemont, in
Jefferson County, was purchased and the seminary begun there.
The place was then so inaccessible and impracticable that it was
given up, and, on 24 June, 1841, Bishop Hughes, administrator of
the diocese, opened with thirty students the new St. John's
seminary and college at Fordham, then a village just outside the
city. The Rev. John McCloskey, later Archbishop of New York and
first cardinal in the United States, was its first president.
The seminary remained at Fordham until24 Oc., 1864, when it was
moved again to Troy, where St. Joseph's seminary began with
fifty-seven students transferred from Fordham. The faculty was
composed of secular priests from Ghent, Belgium, under the
direction of the Very Reverend H. Vanderhende. Here the seminary
remained until 1896, during which period more than 700 priests
were ordained there. The building was then given over to the
Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of Albany as a novitiate
and training-school, and, on 12 August, 1896, the new provincial
seminary at Dunwoodie was solemnly dedicated by Cardinal
Satolli, then Apostolic delegate to the United States. The care
of this seminary was entrusted to the Sulpician Fathers, but
these retired in 1906, and the work was continued by the secular
clergy of the archdiocese. A further step in providing
facilities for seminary training was taken up by Archbishop
Farley in September, 1903, by the opening of Cathedral College
for the preparatory studies of ecclesiastical students.
In the cause of education the work done by the Catholic
publishers must be noted; for New York, with the increase of the
Catholic population, developed also into a great producing and
distributing centre for Catholic literature of all kinds. It is
claimed for Bernard Dornin who arrived in New York in 1803, an
exile from Ireland, that he was the first publisher of
exclusively Catholic works in the United States. His edition of
Pastorini's "History of the Christian Church" (1807) was the
first Catholic book published in New York. The next year he
issued an edition of Dr. Fletcher's "Reflections on the Spirit
of Religious Controversy", for which he had 144 city
subscribers. There were 318 for the Pastorini book, and these
two lists make an interesting directory of Catholic New York
families at the opening of the nineteenth century. Dornin left
New York for Baltimore in 1809. He was followed in New York by
Matthew Field who published "at his library 177 Bowery within a
few doors of Delancey St." the first American year book, "The
Catholic Laity's Directory to the Church Service: with an
almanac for the year 1817". About 1823 John Doyle began to
publish books at 237 Broadway, and, up to 1849, when he went to
San Francisco, he had issued many books of instruction and
devotion. Most of the Doyle plates were taken over by Edward
Dunnigan, who had associated with him in business his
half-brother James B. Kirker. He was the first publisher to
encourage Catholic authors to give him their writings. John
Gilmary Shea's early histories were published by this firm, as
was a fine edition of Haydock's Bible (1844) and many
school-books and standard works. In 1837 Dennis and James
Sadlier began to issue Butler's "Lives of the Saints" and an
edition of the Bible in monthly parts, and thus commenced what
later developed into one of the largest book concerns in the
United States. The list of their publications is as varied as it
is lengthy, and remarkable for the time was their series of
"Metropolitan" school books. Patrick O'Shea, who had been
associated with the Dunigan concern, began for himself in 1854
and, until his death, in 1906, was a very industrious producer
of Catholic books, his publications including, besides a great
number of school books, many editions of valuable works, such as
Darras' "History of the Church", Digby's "Mores", Brownson's
"American Republic", Lingard's "History of England", Wiseman's
and Lacordaire's works. Benziger Brothers, in 1853, opened the
branch of their German house that developed into the great
concern, covering all branches of the trade. Father Isaac T.
Hecker, C.S.P., as part of his dream for the evangelization of
his non-Catholic fellow-countrymen, founded, in 1866, the
Catholic Publication Society. Into this enterprise his brother,
George V. Hecker, also a convert, unselfishly put thousands of
dollars. Its manager was Lawrence Kehoe, a man well versed in
all the best ideals of the trade, who sent out its many books,
bound and printed in a lavishness of style not attempted before.
Charities. New York gave early evidence of the characteristic of
heroic charity. In a letter written by Father Kohlmann, 21
March, 1809, he mentions "applications made at all houses to
raise a subscription for the relief of the poor by which means
$3000 have been collected to be paid constantly each year". New
York then had only one church for its 16,000 Catholics. An
orphan asylum was opened in 1817 in a small wooden house at Mott
and Prince Streets, the "New York Catholic Benevolent Society",
for its support and management, was incorporated the same year
by the Legislature-the first Catholic Society so legalized in
the state-and Mother Seton sent three of her Sisters of Charity
from emmitsburg to take care of the children. This asylum was
moved in 1851 to the block adjoining the Cathedral in Fifth
Avenue and remained there until this property was sold and the
institution located in Westchester County, in 1901. A Union
Emigrant Society, to aid immigrants, the precursor of the Irish
Emigrant Society and the Emigrant Industrial Savings bank (see
Emigrant Aid Societies) was organized in 1829. St. Patrick's the
first New York Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul,
was affiliated to the Paris Council in 1849, and in the steady
increase of the organization throughout the diocese opened a new
field or Catholic charity. The sturdy fight that had to be made
against the raids on poor and neglected Catholic children in the
public institutions was mainly through its members, and out of
their efforts, in great measure, also grew the great Catholic
Protectory, the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin, the Foundling
Asylum, and the more recent Fresh Air and Convalescent Homes,
Day Nurseries, and other incidental details of modern
philanthropy.
V. STATISTICS
The following religious communities now have foundations in the
diocese (1910): Men.--Augustinians, Augustinians of the
Assumption, Fathers of the Blessed Sacrament, Benedictines,
Capuchins, Carmelites, Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits, Fathers
of Mercy, fathers of the Pious Society of Missions, Missionaries
of St. Charles, Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle,
Redemptorists, Salesian Fathers, Brothers of Mary, Christian
Brothers, Marist Brothers, Brothers of the Christian Schools,
Missionaries of La Salette. Women.--Sisters of St. Agnes, Little
Sisters of the Assumption, Sisters of St. Benedict, Sisters of
Bon Secours, Sisters of Charity, Sisters of Divine Compassion,
Sisters of Divine Providence, Sisters of St. Dominic, Sisters of
the Order of St Dominic, Felician Sisters, Missionary Sisters of
the Third Order of St. Francis, Sisters of the Poor of St.
Francis, Sisters of St. Francis, Franciscan Missionaries of
Mary, Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Helpers of the Holy Souls,
Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus, Marianite Sisters of Holy
Cross, Sisters of the Holy Cross, Sisters of Jesus Mary, Sisters
of Mercy, Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary, Sisters of Mercy,
Sisters of Misericorde, School Sisters of Notre Dame, Sisters of
the Congregation of Notre Dame, Little Sisters of the Poor,
Sisters of the Atonement, Reparatrice Nuns, Religious of the
Cenacle, Presentation Nuns, Religious of the Sacred Heart,
Religious of the Visitation, Missionary Sisters of the Sacred
Heary, Ursuline Sisters, Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the
Immaculate Conception, Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart.
The progress of the diocese is shown by the records kept of the
gradual growth of population which made a great metropolis out
of the small provincial city. The notable increase begins with
the immigration during the canal and railroad-building period,
after 1825, the exodus from Ireland following the famine year of
1847, and the German flight after the Revolutionary disturbances
of 1848. In 1826 in New York City there were bu three churches
and 30,000 Catholics; and in the whole diocese (including New
Jersey) only eight churches, eighteen priests, and 150,000
Catholics. The diocesan figures for 1850 are recorded as
follows: churches, 57; chapels, 5; stations, 50; priests, 99;
seminary, 1, with 34 students; academies, 9; hospital, 1;
charitable institutions, 15; Catholic population, 200,000. In
1875 the increase is indicated by these figures: churches, 139;
chapels, 35; priests, 300; ecclesiastical students in seminary,
71; colleges, 3; academies, 22; select schools, 18; hospitals,
4; charitable institutions, 23; religious communities of men,
17, of women, 22; Catholic population, 600,000.
In 1900 we find these totals: churches, 259 (city, 111; country,
148); chapels, 154; stations, 34; priests 676 (regulars, 227);
112 ecclesiastical students; 60 parish schools for boys in city,
with 18,953 pupils; 61 for girls, with 21,199 pupils; parish
schools outside city for boys, 32, with 3743 pupils; for girls,
34, with 4542 pupils; in colleges and academies, 2439 boys and
2484 girls; schools for deaf mutes, 2; day nurseries, 4;
emigrant homes, 5; homes for aged, 3; hospitals, 15; industrial
and reform schools, 26; infant asylum, 1; orphan asylums, 6;
total of young people under Catholic care, 68,269; Catholic
population, 1,000,000. The figures for 1910 are: archbishop, 1;
bishop 1; churches, 331 (city, 147; country, 184); chapels, 193;
stations (without churches) regularly visited, 35; priests, 929
(secular, 605; regular, 324); theological seminary (Dunwoodie),
1; students, 235; pupils in colleges and academies for boys,
3407; in academies for girls, 3812; parish schools, New York
city, for boys, 90, with 27,899 pupils; for girls, 90, with
31,004 pupils; outside New York City, 58, with 6377 male pupils,
6913 female; total in parish schools, 72,193; schools for deaf
mutes, 3; day nurseries, 15; emigrant homes, 5; homes for the
aged, 4; hospitals, 23; industrial and reform schools, 36;
orphan asylums 7;asylums for the blind, 2; total of young people
under Catholic care, 101,087; Catholic population, 1,219,920.
Besides those for English-speaking Catholics, there are now
churches and priests in New York for Germans, Italians, Poles,
french, Hungarians, Bohemians, Lithuanians, Greek Albanese,
Greek Syrians, Greek Ruthenians, Slovaks, Spaniards, Chinese,
for coloured people and for deaf mutes.
SHEA, Hist. of Cath. Ch. in U.S. (New York, 1886); IDEM, Cath.
Ch's of N.Y. (New York, 1878); Ecclesiastical Records, State of
New York (Albany, 1902); O'CALLAGHAN, Documentary Hist. of New
York (Albany, 1849-51); BAYLEY, Brief Sketch of the Early Hist.,
Cath. Ch. on the Island of New York (New York, 1854); FINOTTI,
Bibliographia Americana (New York, 1872); FLYNN, The Cath. Ch.
in New Jersey (Morristown, 1904); WHITE, Life of Mrs. Eliza A.
Seton (New York, 1893); CLARKE, Lives of the Deceased Bishops,
U.S. (New York, 1872-86); SETON, Memoir, Letters and Journal of
Elizabeth Seton (New York, 1869); FARLEY, History of St.
Patrick's Cathedral (New York, 1908); Biog. Cycl., Cath.
Hierarchy, U.S. (Milwaukee, 1898); The Catholic Directory; U.S.
CATH. HIST. SOCIETY, Historical Records and Studies (New York
1899-1910); Memorial, Most Re. M. A. Corrigan (New York, 1902);
HASSARD, Life of the Most Rev. John Hughes (New York, 1866);
BRANN, Most Rev. John Hughes (New York, 1892); CAMPBELL, Pioneer
Priests of North America (New York, 1909-10); Mary Aloysia
Hardey (New York, 1910); New York Truth Teller, files; Freeman's
Journal, files; Metropolitan Record, files; Tablet, files;
Catholic News, files; BROWNSON, H.F., BENNETT, Catholic
Footsteps in Old New York (New York, 1909); ZWIERLEIN, Religion
in New Netherland (Rochester, 1910).
JOSEPH F. MOONEY
State of New York
State of New York
One of the thirteen colonies of Great Britain, which on 4 July,
1776, adopted the Declaration of Independence and became the
United States of America.
BOUNDARIES AND AREA
The State of New York lies between 40° 29' 40" and 45° 0' 2" N.
lat. and between 71° 51' and 79° 45' 54" W. long. It is bounded
by Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, and the Dominion of
Canada on the north; by Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut
on the east; by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the Atlantic Ocean
on the south, and by Pennsylvania, Lake Erie, and the Niagara
River on the west. It has an area of 49,170 square miles, of
which 1550 square miles is water surface. From east to west it
is 326.46 miles in width; it is 300 miles long on the line of
the Hudson River.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The physical geography of New York is very varied. It includes
the high range of the Adirondack Mountains in the northern part.
In the southern and eastern part lie important portions of the
Appalachian system, of which the principal branches are: the
Catskill Mountains on the west bank of the Hudson River below
Albany; the ranges of the Blue Ridge, which cross the Hudson at
West Point and form the Litchfield and Berkshire Hills and the
Green Mountains on the eastern boundary of the State and in
Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont, and the foothills of
the Alleghanies in the south-western portion. The highest peak
in the State is Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks, which has an
altitude of 5344 feet. The valley of the Mohawk divides the
mountainous district in the eastern part of the State, and forms
a natural channel in which the Erie Canal now lies, and which
affords easy communication by water and rail between the Great
Lakes and the Hudson River valley. On the Niagara River is one
of the great cataracts of the world, Niagara Falls, which is a
mile wide and 164 feet high. The preservation of its natural
beauty has been ensured by the erection of a State Park, which
adjoins a similar park established by the Canadian Government.
Geologically, the State of New York is most interesting. The
Hudson River valley and the Adirondacks form part of the Archæan
continent, which is regarded as the oldest portion of the
earth's surface. The Hudson River rises in the Adirondack
country. It is navigable for 151 miles, from Troy to the sea.
The Palisades of the Hudson are among the most interesting and
important examples of basaltic rocks in the world. The principal
rivers of the State, besides the great Hudson River and its
tributary, the Mohawk, are the Susquehanna River, which rises in
Lake Otsego in the central part of the State; the Delaware,
which rises on the western slope of the Catskill mountain
country, and the Allegheny, which rises in the south-western
corner of the State. None of these is of commercial importance
within the State of New York, all passing on to form the
principal rivers of Pennsylvania. The series of large inland
lakes in central New York form a marked feature of its physical
geography. They are of great natural beauty, besides being of
importance for transportation and commerce, and many of the
large cities and towns of the State have grown up on their
banks. The land surrounding them and the valleys of the brooks
and small rivers which form their feeders and outlets are of
remarkable fertility. The forests of the State are extensive.
They lie principally in the Adirondack, Catskill, and Blue Ridge
country. They are the remnants of the primeval forests that once
covered most of the State. The State has established by
constitutional provision and statutory enactments an extensive
system of forest preserves. They are the Adirondack Preserve,
containing approximately 1,500,000 acres, and the Catskill
Preserve, containing 110,000 acres. Provision is made by law for
increasing their area from year to year. The beautiful valleys
of the Hudson and its tributaries extend from the sea into the
foothills of the Adirondacks at Lake George. The valley of Lake
Champlain on the eastern slope of the Adirondacks adjoins the
valley of Lake George, and continues it, except for a divide of
about two miles at its beginning, into the Dominion of Canada
and the St. Lawrence valley. The great central plain of the
State, lying between the mountainous districts of the south and
west and the Great Lakes and the Adirondacks and the eastern
mountain ranges on the north and east, is renowned for the
fertility of its soil and the extent of its manufactures.
The only sea-coast of the State is formed by Long Island, and
extends for 130 miles from New York Harbour to Montauk Point,
which is nearly opposite the boundary line between the States of
Connecticut and Rhode Island. The waters lying between Long
Island and the mainland form Long Island Sound, one of the most
important waterways of the United States. From the head of
navigation on the Hudson River at Troy, a distance of 151 miles
from the sea, there extends across the State to Lake Erie one of
its great possessions, the Erie Canal, completed in 1825. It is
387 miles long. From Troy to Whitehall at the head of Lake
Champlain extends another of the State's great works, the
Champlain Canal, establishing water connexion with the St.
Lawrence valley on the north. Ample communication by water from
the Lake States on the west and from Canada on the north to the
Atlantic Ocean at New York Bay is provided by this canal system.
There are also three other important interior canals owned by
the State, the Oswego, the Cayuga and Seneca, and the Black
River canals. In 1909 the goods carried free on these state
canals valued nearly sixty million dollars. There is now under
construction by the State the Great Barge Canal, which it is
estimated will cost more than $60,000,000. It is intended to
provide navigation for modern canal barges of 1000 tons from
Lake Erie to New York City.
The physical geography of the State has been an important factor
in its growth. The easy communication afforded by its great
rivers and its convenient waterways has made it the favoured
highway for domestic trade and commerce and emigration for more
than a century, while its possession of the greatest seaport of
the North Atlantic Ocean has made the State the principal
gateway for the world's trade with North America. The ice-free
and deep-channelled port of New York, lying at the mouth of the
Hudson River, with its wide roadsteads and anchorages and vast
transportation facilities is indeed the greatest property of the
State of New York. The port has a total water front of 444
miles.
MEANS OF COMMUNICATION
The means of communication within the State are admirable.
Railroads. In 1907 there were 8505 miles of railway and 3950
miles of electric railway tracks. The great railroad of the
State is the New York Central system between New York and
Buffalo which provides communication between New York City and
the principal places in all parts of the United States by its
own lines and their direct connexions. The great New England
system, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, besides
having its terminal in New York City, crosses the southern part
of the State into the coal and iron country of Pennsylvania. It
controls also the extensive New York, Ontario, and Western
Railroad, extending diagonally across the State from Oswego on
Lake Ontario to the Hudson River at Weehawken, opposite New
York. The Erie system, in addition to being one of the trunk
lines to Chicago, is probably the greatest freight carrier in
the Union. Its passenger traffic around New York City is also of
great extent. Its terminal is in Jersey City opposite New York.
The Delaware and Hudson Railroad extends from its connexion with
the Grand Trunk of Canada, at Rouse's Point on Lake Champlain,
to Albany, where it forms a connexion with a network of roads
extending into many of the important centres of central and
western New York. The Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad
runs parallel to the southern boundary of the State in New
Jersey and Pennsylvania, and has its eastern terminal at Hoboken
on the Hudson River also opposite New York City. It extends also
to the north a most important line from Binghamton to Buffalo,
Utica, and Oswego. It is the greatest of the anthracite coal
carriers. The Buffalo, Rochester, and Pittsburg Railroad
connects the three large cities named in its title, and serves
one of the important agricultural, manufacturing, and mining
districts of the States of New York and Pennsylvania. The
Pennsylvania Railroad, one of the great national trunk lines,
with its Hudson tunnels and its new vast terminal in New York
City, is one of the great institutions of New York. Its main
lines centre about Philadelphia. It owns and operates in
addition to its other properties the entire railroad system of
populous Long Island, whose wonderful growth in population and
industry seems but a presage of still more extensive
development. The Hudson Tunnels under the Hudson River connect
the City of New York with the terminals of most of the railroads
on the New Jersey side of the Hudson; recently opened (1910)
tunnels under the East River bring the Long Island Railroad into
direct connexion with the Pennsylvania system, and thus with the
rest of the continent. These tunnels are a marvellous
achievement in subaqueous construction. The development of the
terminals of these trunk lines and of their accessories
especially about the port of New York is a great object lesson
in the astounding development of the Western Hemisphere in less
than eighty years. The first railroad in the State, the Hudson
and Mohawk, was built in 1831. It was 17 miles long and ran from
Albany to Schenectady on the Mohawk. It was one of the earliest
steam railroads in the world.
Water Routes. The communication by water within New York State
is not less wonderful. To the ocean navigation that fills the
port of New York must be added the traffic on the rivers lakes,
and canals of the State and upon Long Island Sound. The
prosperous cities and towns which are ranged along the banks of
the Hudson River, across the State on the lines of the canals
and lakes and rivers, and upon the shores of Lake Erie, Lake
Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River are sustained largely by it.
Wagon Roads. The improved system of State highways, begun in
late years, has given modern highways to many of the rural
districts and laid out avenues between the cities. It is based
upon subventions of highway improvements by means of loans and
aids from the State treasury to the various local authorities.
The growth of vehicular traffic by electric tramways and by
automobiles has greatly promoted this work.
CLIMATE
The climate of the State is salubrious, and corresponds
generally with that of the north temperate zone. In 1909 --
which was somewhat abnormal, it is true -- the extremes of
temperature were 102° above zero maximum and 35° below zero
minimum. For 1909 the mean annual temperature of the entire
State was 45.8°. The average rainfall throughout the State for
the same year was 36.03 inches. New York State is divided by the
Department of Agriculture of the United States into three
climatological districts: (1) the Hudson, Delaware, and
Susquehanna basins, (2) the Allegheny River, and (3) the Great
Lakes and the St. Lawrence. The great extent of the State causes
very variable climatic conditions within its boundaries. In 1909
the mean annual temperature for one part of the Adirondack
region was 39° and for the vicinity of New York City 52°. The
rainfall during the year 1909 averaged from 18.10 inches in
Livingston County to 62.7 inches in Jefferson County. The
winters in the Adirondack country, the St. Lawrence, and the
Champlain valleys are generally severe, while the Hudson Valley,
Long Island and the vicinity of New York City have moderate
winters and hot summers.
POPULATION
New York has been since 1820 the most populous state in the
Union. The Federal Census returns of 1910 place the population
at 9,113,279; the State Census of 1905 placed it at 8,067,308.
The City of New York in 1910 comprised 4,766,883 souls. It is
one of the centres of the population of the world. In a circle
of 680 square miles area with its centre at the Battery (the
same area as that of Greater London) there are dwelling six
millions of people, or scarcely a million less than in the
London district, which it is to be remembered is not a
municipality. This metropolitan district is the most
cosmopolitan community in the world. Its urban character is most
varied and interesting. One division of it, the City of New York
proper, is so large that if divided it would make three cities
such as Chicago, Philadelphia, and Pittsburg. Yet nearly a
million and a half of people live outside the limits of the city
and within the indicated area.
The cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and Troy are
the five next in size; according to the census of 1910 they
include respectively 423,715, 218,149, 137,249, 100,253, and
76,813 people. In 1905 there were 4821 Indians still on the
State Reservations. There were 47 municipalities in New York in
1900 having a population of more than 8000 people, and in them
68.5 per cent of the people dwelt. In 1900 there were 3,614,780
males and 3,654,114 females in the State. There were 99,232
coloured people. 1,900,425 of the population or a little less
than one quarter were foreign born. Of these there were 480,026
Germans, 425,553 Irish, 182,248 Italians, 165,610 Russian
(mostly Hebrews), and 135,685 English -- to mention only the
largest groups. The population of the whole State in 1790 was
340,120 by the first Federal Census. In 120 years it has
increased more than twenty-six times.
In 1906, according to the Federal Census Bureau, there were
2,285,768 Roman Catholics in New York, forming 63.6 per cent of
the total of 3,591,974 religious communicants or church members
in the State of New York. It is the largest religious
denomination in the State. However, only 43.7 per cent of the
people of the State claimed membership in any church or
denomination. In 1906 there were 278 Roman Catholics for each
1000 of the population, a gain of 8.6 per cent over the figures
of the census reports of 1890. The number of Protestant
Episcopalian communicants at the same date in the State was 24
for each 1000 of the population. In 1906 the Federal Census
reports show that in the State of New York the number of
churches and halls for worship was 9193, having a seating
capacity of 3,191,267. There were also presbyteries valued at
$22,283,225. The Sunday schools were 8795 in number and attended
by 1,247,051 scholars. The entire value of all church property
was $255,166,284, on which the debt was $28,382,866. The
Catholic Annual for 1910 shows the following carefully gathered
for the dioceses of New York State. All these dioceses, it
should be noted, are wholly included within the State boundaries
and together comprise the whole State: Dioceses Catholic
Population Churches Priests Parochial Schools Young People under
Catholic Care
+ New York: 1,219,820 Catholics -- 331 churches -- 929 priests
-- 148 parochial schools -- 101,087 young people under
Catholic care
+ Albany: 193,525 Catholics -- 171 churches -- 232 priests -- 47
parochial schools -- 20,362 young people under Catholic care
+ Brooklyn: 700,000 Catholics -- 195 churches -- 426 priests --
76 parochial schools -- 78,567 young people under Catholic
care
+ Buffalo: 244,739 Catholics -- 194 churches -- 346 priests --
111 parochial schools -- 36,405 young people under Catholic
care
+ Ogdensburg: 92,000 Catholics -- 154 churches -- 135 priests --
15 parochial schools -- 4,079 young people under Catholic care
+ Rochester: 121,000 Catholics -- 129 churches -- 163 priests --
54 parochial schools -- 19,779 young people under Catholic
care
+ Syracuse: 151,463 Catholics -- 106 churches -- 119 priests --
18 parochial schools -- 9,141 young people under Catholic care
+ Totals: 2,722,547 Catholics -- 1280 churches -- 2350 priests
-- 469 parochial schools -- 269,420 young people under
Catholic care
These Catholic estimates are interesting for the purposes of
comparison with those of the official documents, and
particularly as being in advance of the results of the Federal
Census of 1910, which are now being prepared but cannot be
published in detail for some years to come. The present
population of the State of New York, according to the census of
1910, is 9,113,279, about one-tenth of the entire population of
the United States.
WEALTH AND RESOURCES
New York is the wealthiest State in the Union. The aggregate
value of all the property within the State in 1904, as estimated
by the Federal Census Bureau, was $14,769,042,207, of which
$9,151,979,081 represented real property and improvements. The
revenue of the State Government in 1908-9 was $52,285,239. The
City of New York received the enormous revenue of $368,696,334
in 1908, and had in the same year a funded debt of $598,012,644.
The resources of the State of New York lie first in its
commerce, and then in its manufactures, agriculture, and mining.
Commerce. In 1908 New York City was the third shipping port of
the world, being surpassed only by London and Liverpool. Its
imports were of the value of approximately 780 millions and its
exports 600 millions. The tonnage movement of foreign trade for
the year ending 30 June, 1909, was: entered, 12,528,723 tons;
cleared, 11,866,431 tons. The shipping of the inland waters and
of the Great Lakes controlled by the State of New York is of
equally vast extent. Buffalo, with a population of over 400,000,
receives in its port on Lake Erie a large portion of the
shipping trade of Canada and of the Lake States of the Union.
The other ports of Lakes Erie and Ontario are similarly
prosperous.
Manufactures. New York is the leading State of the Union in
manufactures. In 1905 it had invested in manufactures more than
$2,000,000,000, and the value of its manufactures products was
approximately $2,500,000,000. In the same year it produced 47
per cent of the men's and 70 per cent of the women's clothes
made in the United States. The value of its textile output in
the same year was $114,371,226.
Agriculture. In 1900 there were in New York 226,720 farms of a
total area of 22,648,100 acres, of which 15,599,986 acres were
improved land. The principle crops are maize, wheat, oats,
potatoes, and hay. The wool clip in 1908 was estimated at
5,100,000 pounds. The largest dairy interests in the United
States are within the State of New York.
Mining. The mines of the state in 1908 yielded products valued
at $45,609,861; the quarries produced building stone valued at
$6,137,279. The Onondaga salt springs produced in the same year
products of the value of $2,136,738, while the petroleum wells
yielded $2,071,533 worth of crude petroleum.
PUBLIC DEBT
The State of New York has no funded debt except for canals and
highways. Its outstanding bonds for these purposes on 30
September, 1909, aggregated $41,230,660. It has no direct
taxation. It has a surplus in its treasury. The assessed
valuation of the taxable property within the State for 1909 was
just short of $10,000,000,000. The title of "Empire State",
given to New York by common consent, is well deserved.
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
The public educational system of New York is extensive and
arranged upon broad plans. It is governed by a general revised
statute of more than 2000 sections called "Education Law",
adopted in 1910. This law provides for a central organization
called the "Education Department" composed of the regents of the
University of the State of New York, who are the legislative
branch, and the Commissioner of Education, who is made the chief
executive officer of the system and of the regents. The work of
the Educational Department is divided into three parts, the
common schools, the academic or secondary schools, and the
colleges and universities. The head of the regents of the
university is the chancellor. Executive control, however, is
entrusted to the commissioner of education, who, with his
assistants and subordinates, has charge of the enormous details
of the entire educational system of the State under the
legislative control of the regents and the direction of the
statutes of the State passed by the legislature. The colleges
and universities of the State are separate corporations, formed
either by the regents or by special statutes. They are under
either private or municipal control. There is no State
university as such, although Cornell University has been given
many of the privileges and State aids usually granted to such an
institution. These corporations are subject, however, to the
provisions of the Education Law and the jurisdiction of the
Education Department. The academies or secondary schools are
also either private or public. The public secondary schools are
directly in charge of the school boards and boards of education
of the various divisions of the State. The private academies may
enroll themselves under the Department of Education, and receive
the privileges of the public academies in respect to
examinations and certificates from the Education Department.
There is, however, no legal compulsion put upon them in this
respect. The common schools of the State are divided generally
into those which are controlled by the local boards of education
in the cities and more populous centres, and those which are
controlled by the local school officers elected by the people in
the school districts in other parts of the State. Woman suffrage
is granted in school officers' elections. In the great cities of
the State the common and secondary schools are usually placed in
charge of school boards and officers provided for in the city
charters, which are in the form of statutes enacted by the
legislature.
In New York City is situated the large college known as the
College of the City of New York, maintained at public expense.
It has the most extensive buildings for educational purposes in
the city and an enrolment of more than 3736 pupils. On the
Hudson, at West Point, is situated the famous United States
Military Academy for the training of officers for the army. It
is entirely under Federal control through the War Department,
and has 525 cadets in attendance. The professional schools of
the State of all classes are controlled by the Education
Department under stringent provisions. Admission to the secular
professions generally is granted by State certificates awarded
after rigid examinations by State examining boards. The schools
for the training of teachers are also either under departmental
control or, in the more populous centres, under the control of
the several boards of education of the localities. Primary
education is compulsory between the ages of seven and sixteen
years. The state does not interfere, however, with the liberty
of choice of schools by parents. No discrimination is made
against parochial and private schools, which have enrolled
themselves with the Education Department: they receive, however,
no public financial aid, if the small grant made by the
Department to defray the cost of examinations in the enrolled
secondary schools be excepted.
In 1908 there were 1,841,638 children between five and eighteen
years of age in New York State; there were 1,273,754 pupils and
36,132 teachers in the public schools. The academies or
secondary schools of the State had 95,170 pupils and 1523
teachers; the colleges and universities 22,097 students and 2699
teachers. There were 12,068 public school buildings, 144 public
secondary schools or academies, and 30 colleges and
universities. The appropriation of public moneys for educational
purposes in New York State for the year 1907 was $71,838,172.
The City of New York alone paid in 1909 for public school
education $36,319,624. Its schools contained 730,234 pupils and
had 17,073 teachers and directors. The public statistics of the
Department of Education of New York available show that 451
parochial schools, besides numerous academies and colleges, were
conducted under the auspices of the Catholic Church in New York
in 1908. The number of pupils in the Catholic educational
institutions of the State cannot be ascertained with certainty.
A large number of Catholic schools and academies make no public
reports, but it is conservatively estimated that 210,000 pupils
were in the Catholic schools in 1908. The State Education
Department reported that in 1907, 179,677 pupils were registered
as in the Roman Catholic Elementary Schools alone. The Catholic
Annual of 1910 estimates the number of young people under
Catholic care including the orphans and other inmates of
charitable institutions as 269,420.
There are many excellent high schools and academies in the State
conducted by the Catholic teaching orders of men and women and
by secular priests and laymen. The colleges under Catholic
auspices are: Fordham University, St. Francis Xavier College,
Manhattan College, Brooklyn College, St. Francis College, St.
John's College, Brooklyn -- all in New York City; Canisius
College at Buffalo, Niagara University at Niagara Falls, and the
College of New Rochelle, a flourishing college for women in
charge of the Ursuline Nuns. All of these institutions are under
the jurisdiction of the Education Department of the State of New
York. In 1894 there was inserted in the Constitution of the
State a provision that neither the State nor any subdivision
thereof should use its property or credit or any public money or
authorise or permit either to be used directly or indirectly in
aid or maintenance other than for examination or inspection of
any school or institution of learning wholly or in part under
the control or direction of any religious denomination or in
which any denominational tenet or doctrine is taught. The
Catholic seminaries for the education of priests are
flourishing. The great novitiates of the Jesuits, Redemptorists,
and Christian Brothers, and several others maintained by various
religious orders, are in the Hudson Valley, south of Albany. The
seminary of the Archdiocese of New York at Dunwoodie,
Westchester County, which is the monument of the late Archbishop
Corrigan, is one of the leading seminaries of the United States.
The diocesan seminaries of St. John's at Brooklyn, St. Bernard's
at Rochester and the Seminary of Our Lady of Angels, conducted
by the priests of the Mission at Niagara Falls, in the Diocese
of Buffalo, are of the highest standing for scholarship and
training.
MILITIA
The militia of the State, which is composed exclusively of
volunteers, numbers 17,038 trained officers and men in all the
arms of the military service. It is intended to form the nucleus
of a military force in time of need by training volunteer
citizen-soldiers in the military art. It is most liberally
supported by the State and most carefully trained in
co-operation with the Federal Government.
LIBRARIES
The libraries of the State are numerous and important. The
Education Department maintains a generous system for the
establishment of libraries and provides generous State aid for
their support. The great library of the State is the New York
Public Library in the City of New York, which in 1909 owned
1,549,260 books and 295,078 pamphlets, in all 1,844,338 volumes.
It will soon (in 1911) occupy the magnificent building erected
by the City of New York in Bryant Square at Fifth Avenue and
Forty-second Street, which has just been completed. It is
largely endowed by the testamentary gifts of John Jacob Astor,
James Lenox, and Samuel J. Tilden, and receives aid from the
City Treasury.
HISTORY
The territory which now forms the State of New York may, as
regards its history, be divided into two parts. The first part
includes the Hudson River valley, the valley of the Mohawk, the
land around Newark Bay and New York Harbour, and the western end
of Long Island -- which, speaking generally, were, together with
the sparse Delaware River settlements, the only portions of New
Netherland actually occupied by the Dutch when the province was
granted by the English Crown to the Duke of York in 1664. The
second part comprises the rest of the State excluding eastern
Long Island: this was the Indian country, the home of the
Iroquois and the other tribes forming the Five Nations, now
mostly remembered from the old romances, but a savage and fierce
reality to the Dutch and English colonists. As late as 1756
there were only two counties to be found in the entire province
west of the Hudson River. Interposed between the French and the
Dutch (and afterwards the English), and brought from time to
time into their quarrels for supremacy, the Indians kept the
land between the Great Lakes, the Hudson, and the St. Lawrence
truly "a dark and bloody ground" until the end of the eighteenth
century, when, as part of the military operations of the
Revolution, the expedition of the American forces, sent by
Washington under command of General John Sullivan, finally broke
their power at the Battle of Newton near Elmira in 1779.
Although their military power was thus destroyed, the Indians
still remained a menace to the settlers in remoter districts for
many years. Gradually, however, their opposition was overcome,
and they finally became the wards of the State, living on
reservations set apart for their exclusive occupancy. A remnant
of them (4821 in the year 1905) still survives. Early in the
nineteenth century large grants of land began to be made by the
State at small prices to land companies and promoters for the
purpose of fostering occupation by settlers. Systematic
colonization was immediately undertaken, and a large emigration
from Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Dutch
settlements in the Hudson Valley began to flow into the Iroquois
country. This continued prosperously, but not rapidly until De
Witt Clinton, one of the great figures in the history of New
York, upon his taking the office of Governor in 1818, pressed
forward vigorously the long-standing plans for the construction
and completion of the great artificial waterways of the State,
the Erie and the Champlain canals. European immigration then
became essential to supply the labour needed for the success of
these plans. Stalwart men and women flocked from the British
Islands and Germany in astounding numbers, and in forty years
the population of New York City increased more than six times
(from 33,131 in 1790 to 202,589 in 1830). The labouring men, who
worked outside the cities on the public works, with their
families became settlers in the villages and towns that grew up
along the canals. The general prosperity which succeeded the
successful completion of these works and their operation, and
the consequent enormous development of the State's resources,
drew others into the territory. The population of the State of
New York itself increased from 340,120 in 1790 to 1,918,608 in
1830.
The European immigration thus begun included of course a large
proportion of Catholics. Bishop Dubois estimated that in 1830
there were 35,000 Catholics in New York City and 150,000
throughout the rest of the State and in northern New Jersey,
made up chiefly of poor emigrants. The Irish element was very
large, and the first Catholic congregations in New York were in
some cases almost wholly Irish. To them soon came their devoted
missionary priests to minister to them in the Faith which had
survived among their race and grown even brighter in the night
of the iniquitous penal days, which had then but just begun to
pass away. The State of New York, because of the uncertain
boundaries of the old Dutch province of New Netherland, at first
laid claim to the country which now comprises the State of
Vermont, and also to part of the land now lying in western
Massachusetts and Connecticut. These claims were settled by
mutual agreement in due course and the boundaries were fixed.
The State of Vermont thereupon became the fourteenth State of
the Union in 1791, being the first admitted after the adoption
of the United States Constitution in 1789. The first complete
State Constitution framed after the Revolution was that of New
York. It was adopted on 20 April, 1777, at Kingston on the
Hudson. John Jay, George Clinton, and Alexander Hamilton were
its principal framers. The City of New York became the capital
of the State after the Revolution, as it had been the capital of
the Province of New York before. Upon the adoption of the United
States Constitution in 1789 it became the capital of the United
States. President Washington was inaugurated there at Federal
Hall at the head of Broad Street, the first capital of the
United States. His house stood at the foot of Broadway. Its site
is now occupied by the Washington Building. In 1790 the capital
of the United States was removed to Philadelphia, and in 1797
the capital of the State was removed to Albany where it has
since remained. Since 1820 the City of New York has been the
commercial and financial centre of the continent of North
America.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY
On 8 April, 1808, the Holy See created the Diocese of New York
coincidently with the establishment of the American Hierarchy by
the erection of Baltimore to be an Archiepiscopal See with New
York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville) as
suffragan sees. Doctor Richard Luke Concanen, an Irish Dominican
resident in Rome, was appointed first Bishop of New York, but
died at Naples in 1809, while awaiting an opportunity to elude
Napoleon Bonaparte's embargo and set out for his see. After a
delay of six years his successor Bishop John Connolly, also a
Dominican, arrived at New York in November, 1815, and ministered
as the first resident bishop to his scattered congregations of
17,000 souls (whom he describes as "mostly Irish") in union with
the four priests, who were all he had to help him throughout his
immense diocese. He died on 5 February, 1825, after a devoted
and self-sacrificing episcopate, and is buried under the altar
of the new St. Patrick's Cathedral. During the vacancy of the
see, preceding the arrival of Bishop Connolly (1808-15), the
diocesan affairs were administered by Father Anthony Kohlmann
(q. v.). He rebuilt St. Peter's church in Barclay Street, and in
1809 bought the site of old St. Patrick's Cathedral in Mott
Street, the building of which he finished in 1815. He also
bought in 1809 the land and old residence in the large block on
Fifth Avenue at Fiftieth Street -- part of which is the site of
the present St. Patrick's Cathedral -- and there established a
flourishing boys' school called the New York Literary
Institution.
In 1822 the diocesan statistics were: two churches in New York
City, one in Albany, one in Utica, one in Auburn, one at
Carthage on the Black River, all of which were served by one
bishop and eight priests. Bishop Connolly was succeeded on 29
October, 1826, by John Dubois (q. v.) a Frenchman who had been a
fellow student of Robespierre and was one of the émigré priests
of the French Revolution. He was one of the founders of Mount
St. Mary's, Emmitsburg, Maryland -- "the mother of priests", as
it has been called -- and passed through the cholera epidemic of
1832, when 3000 people died in the City of New York between July
and October. He increased the churches and brought to his
diocese zealous priests. It is noteworthy that he ordained to
the priesthood at St. Patrick's in June, 1836, the Venerable
John N. Neuman (q. v.), afterwards the saintly Bishop of
Philadelphia. After a life of arduous labour, trial, and anxiety
both as a missionary, an educator, and a pioneer bishop, his
health broke down, and he was granted in 1837 as coadjutor John
Hughes (q. v.), who justly bears the most distinguished name in
the annals of the American hierarchy even to this day. Bishop
Hughes was consecrated on 9 February, 1838. A stroke of
paralysis attacked the venerable Bishop Dubois almost
immediately afterwards, and he was an invalid until his death on
20 December, 1842, whereupon he was succeeded by his coadjutor
as Bishop of New York. In April, 1847, the Sees of Albany and
Buffalo were created. Bishop John McCloskey (q. v.), afterwards
the first American cardinal, who was then Coadjutor Bishop of
New York, was transferred to Albany, and Reverend John Timon,
Superior of the Congregation of the Mission, was made Bishop of
Buffalo. In October, 1850, the Diocese of New York was erected
into an Archiepiscopal see with the Sees of Boston, Hartford,
Albany, and Buffalo as its suffragans. Archbishop Hughes sailed
for Rome in the following month, and received the pallium from
the hands of Pius IX himself.
The career of Archbishop Hughes and the history of his
archdiocese and its suffragan sees are fully treated under their
appropriate titles, and need not be discussed here. The life of
Archbishop Hughes marked the great formative period in the
history of the pioneer Church in New York. His great work in the
cause of education, in the establishment of the parochial
schools, the establishment of the great teaching and other
religious orders, and the erection of seminaries and colleges
for the training of candidates for the priesthood, as well as in
the solution of the tremendous problems connected with the
building up of the churches and charities and the preservation
of the Faith, had a profound effect upon the attitude of the
State of New York towards religious institutions and persons and
ecclesiastical affairs. The Knownothing movement of the fifties
(see KNOWNOTHINGISM) was profoundly felt in New York, but the
number and importance of the Catholic population protected them
from the cowardly assaults made upon the Catholics in other
places. The presence of Archbishop Hughes was ever a tower of
strength in the conflict and in producing the overwhelming
defeat which this un-American movement met. The only effect of
this sectarian agitation upon the legislation of the State was
the passage in 1855 of a plainly unconstitutional statute which
sought to prevent Catholic bishops from holding title to
property in trust for churches or congregations. It proved of no
avail whatever. In 1862, after the Civil War began, it was
quietly repealed.
In 1853 the Dioceses of Brooklyn in New York and of Newark in
New Jersey were established, the first Bishop of Brooklyn being
Reverend John Loughlin and the first Bishop of Newark Reverend
James Roosevelt Bayley (q. v.), who later became Archbishop of
Baltimore. In 1868 the Diocese of Rochester was separated from
Albany, and the venerable and beloved apostle of Catholicism in
North-western New York, Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid (q. v.),
appointed its first bishop.
In 1872 the Diocese of Ogdensburg was created, and in November,
1886, the youngest diocese of the State, Syracuse. It is
unnecessary to sketch further here the history of Catholicism in
New York State during the incumbency of the archiepiscopal
office by Cardinal McCloskey, Archbishop Hughes's successor, and
that of his successor Archbishop Corrigan, or of his Grace, John
M. Farley, its present archbishop. It is sufficient to record
the continual progress in the advancement of Catholic interests,
in the building up of the Church, and in adjusting its
activities to the needs of the people.
DISTINGUISHED CATHOLICS
The Catholics of New York State have produced their full
proportion of persons of distinction in the professions,
commercial, political, and social life. Of the ninety-seven
justices who now sit in the Supreme Court seventeen are of the
Catholic faith. Among the justices of the lower courts are many
Catholics. Since 1880 three mayors of New York City (Messrs.
Grace, Grant, and Gilroy) have been Catholics. Francis Kernan
was United States Senator for New York from 1876-82. Denis
O'Brien closed a distinguished career as Judge of the Court of
Appeals, the court of lest resort, by his retirement for age in
1908 after a continuous service of eighteen years. The first
Catholic Justice of the Supreme Court was John R. Brady, elected
in 1859, and loyal sons of the Church have been on that bench
ever since. Mayors of the great cities of the State, senators,
assemblyman, State officers and representatives in Congress, and
a multitude of other public officers have been chosen from the
Catholic citizenship ever since the beginning of the nineteenth
century and have rendered distinguished service to the State.
For many years the two brilliant leaders of the New York Bar
were Charles O'Conor and James T. Brady, sons of Irish Catholic
emigrants. In medicine Gunning S. Bedford and Thomas Addis Emmet
kept for many years the Catholic name at the top of the
profession, and they have now worthy successors. In the great
public works and industries of the State Catholics have had more
than their share of the labour and its rewards. In the
commercial life of New York some of the largest fortunes have
been honourably gathered by Catholic men, who have been most
generous to the religious and charitable works of the State.
LEGAL
The State of New York has a constitutional government. It was
the model of that of the United States of America. The union of
the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government
under a written constitution is its principle. Its executive
head is the governor. The legislature has two houses, the Senate
and Assembly, which meet annually at Albany, the State capital.
Its courts are composed principally of a Court of Appeals (the
highest court) and the Supreme Court, which is divided into four
Appellate Divisions, and numerous courts of first instance,
divided into districts throughout the State. There are many
minor and local courts supplementing the Supreme Court.
The State of New York has always been foremost in the pursuit of
freedom of worship and religious toleration. It is true, however
that her first Constitution in 1777 excluded all priests and
ministers of the Gospel from her legislature and offices, and
put a prohibitory religious test upon foreign-born Catholics who
applied for citizenship. Herein we find an echo of the bitter
intolerance of the eighteenth century, which was strongly
opposed in the Convention. The naturalization disability
disappeared very soon on the adoption of the Federal
Constitution in 1789, and, by subsequent constitutional
amendments, all these remnants of ancient bigotry were formally
abolished. It is remarkable to find John Jay, otherwise most
earnest in the fight for civil liberty, the leader in these
efforts to impose religions tests and restraints of liberty of
conscience upon his Catholic fellow-citizens. This Constitution,
nevertheless, proclaimed general religious liberty in
unmistakable terms. The provision is as follows: "The free
exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship
without discrimination or preference shall forever hereafter be
allowed within this State to all mankind provided that the
liberty of conscience hereby granted shall not be so construed
as to excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practices
inconsistent with the peace or safety of this State."
The statutes of the State which permitted the formation of
religious corporations without restraint, and gave to them when
formed, freedom to hold property and conduct their affairs
unhampered by the civil power, are contemporaneous with the
restoration of order within its borders after the British
evacuation in November, 1783, and were among the first statutes
adopted by the legislature in 1784. The laws of New York which
relate to matters of religion have been in many instances models
for the other States. The Dutchmen who settled in New
Netherland, and the other emigrants and their descendants who
came within their influence in the Province of New York, early
learned the value and reason of religious toleration. The
Dutchmen in America did not persecute for religion's sake.
The present civil relations of the Catholic Church to the State
of New York and their history form an interesting study. The
Dutch Colony of the seventeenth century was officially
intolerantly Protestant but was, as has been noted, in practice
tolerant and fair to people of other faiths who dwelt within New
Netherland. When the English took the province from the Dutch in
1664, they granted full religious toleration to the other forms
of Protestantism, and preserved the property rights of the Dutch
Reformed Church, while recognizing its discipline. The General
Assembly of the province held in 1682 under the famous Governor
Thomas Dongan, an Irish Catholic nobleman, adopted the Charter
of Liberties, which proclaimed religious liberty to all
Christians. Although this charter did not receive formal royal
sanction, the fact of religious toleration was nevertheless
universally recognized. In 1688 the Stuart Revolution in England
reversed this policy of liberality, and the Province of New York
immediately followed the example of the mother-country in all
its bitter intolerance and persecution by law of the Catholic
Church and its adherents. In 1697, although the Anglican Church
was never formally established in the Province of New York,
Trinity Church was founded in the City of New York by royal
charter, and received many civil privileges and the munificent
grants of land which are the source of its present great wealth.
The Dutch Reformed Churches continued, however, to enjoy their
property and the protection of their rights undisturbed by the
new Anglican foundation, the inhabitants of Dutch blood being
then largely in the ascendant. This condition continued many
years, for it is a fact that, when the Revolution occurred in
1776, the majority of the inhabitants of the Province of New
York were, contrary to general belief, not of English descent.
The political conditions at home, and also the long contest
between England and France for the control of North America
resulted, as has been stated, in the enactment by the provincial
legislature from time to time of proscriptive laws against the
Catholic Faith and its adherents -- laws which are savage in
their malignity. Catholic priests and teachers were ordered to
keep away from the province or, if they by any chance came
there, to depart at once. Severe penalties were provided for
disobedience to these laws, extending to long imprisonment or
even death. These laws were directed in many cases principally
against the Catholic missionaries among the Iroquois, who were
almost exclusively Frenchmen. They were adopted also, it is
consoling to think, against the protest of many of the best of
the colonial legislators and under the urging of authority, and
were rarely enforced. This was not so in the case of the
unfortunate schoolmaster John Ury, however. In the disturbances
and panic of the so-called Negro Plot of 1741 he was actually
tried in New York and executed under these statutes for the
crime of being a "Popish priest" and teaching his religion.
Although it is held by some that Ury was not a Catholic priest,
Archbishop Bayley gives good reason for believing the contrary,
citing especially the fact that the record shows that he never
denied the accusation at any time, and therefore died as a
priest. The entire body of this legislation was formally
repealed at the first session of the Legislature of the State of
New York.
The condition of the few Catholics who dared proscription and
persecution in the province of New York before the Revolution of
1776 was deplorable from a religious point of view. These
Catholics must have been recruited in numbers from time to time
from seafaring people, emigrants, Spanish negroes from the West
Indies, and at least part of the 7000 Acadians, who were
distributed along the Atlantic seaboard in 1755 after the awful
expatriation which that devoted people suffered, although the
annals are almost bare of references even to their existence.
Father Farmer from Philadelphia came to see the oppressed
Catholics during his long service on the missions between
1752-86, but his visits have no history. They had no church or
institutions of any kind. As Archbishop Bayley truly said, a
chapel, if they had had means to erect one, would have been torn
down. The first mention of their public worship shows them
hearing Mass in a carpenter shop, and afterwards in a public
hall in Vauxhall Garden (a pleasure ground on the Hudson near
Warren Street), New York, between the years 1781-83 when they
had begun to take heart because of the religious liberty which
was to be theirs under the new republican government whose arms
had already triumphed over England at Yorktown. Their number at
this time was reported as being about two hundred, with only
twenty odd communicants, as Father Farmer lamented.
The Revolution of 1776 overthrew entirely the system of
government churches and all religious proscription by law, and
the State Constitution of 1777 provided, as has been seen, for
general religious liberty. The legislature in 1784 carried out
the declaration. It provided "that an universal equality between
every religious denomination, according to the true spirit of
the Constitution, toward each other shall forever prevail", and
followed this by a general act providing for the incorporation
of churches and religious societies under clear general rules,
few, simple, and easy for all. This law made a most unusual
provision in aid of justice for the vesting in these corporate
bodies immediately of "all the temporalities granted or devised
directly to said church, congregation or society, or to any
person or persons in trust to and for their use and although
such gift, grant or devise may not have strictly been agreeable
to the rigid rules of law, or might on strict construction be
defeated by the operation of the statutes of mortmain." It made
provision also with great prescience for the protection of
clergymen from the exercise of arbitrary power by the lay
directors of religious corporations by taking from the trustees
of the church the power to fix the salary of the clergyman and
by requiring the congregation to fix it at special meetings. To
prevent abuses, however, and in accordance with legal tradition
and precedent, restrictions upon the amount of real estate and
personal property which a church could hold were made, and the
Court of Chancery was placed in control of all such matters by
requiring that annual reports should be made by the churches to
it. The final clause of the act crystallized the principle of
the Constitution, that, while the State protects and fosters
religion in its beneficent work, it must not interfere in
religious matters. It is as follows: "Nothing herein contained
shall be construed, adjudged, or taken to abridge or affect the
rights of conscience or private judgment or in the least to
alter or change the religious constitutions or governments of
either of the said churches, congregations or societies, so far
as respects or in any wise concerns the doctrine, discipline or
worship thereof".
The Constitution of 1777 and the legislation of the
Revolutionary period in aid of it are remarkable for deep
sagacity and great grasp of principles, as well as for the
conservative and sane treatment of the innovations and novelties
which the radical changes in the government made necessary. This
is the more remarkable when it is remembered that this
Constitution was adopted in time of war by delegates who laid
down their arms in most cases to join in the deliberations upon
it, and that the Legislature first met immediately after the
close of this war time. It was besides a venture in an almost
virgin field. Its wisdom, knowledge, and broadness are priceless
treasures of the citizens of New York. The wisdom of the
Constitution is shown particularly in the provision creating the
body of the law for the State. It enacted that the law of the
State should be constituted of the Common Law of England and of
the Acts of the Legislature of the Colony of New York, as
together forming the law of the colony on 19 April, 1775 (the
day of the battle of Concord and Lexington). It was expressly
declared, however, "that all such parts of the said Common Law
and all such of the said Statutes and Acts aforesaid or parts
thereof as may be construed to establish or maintain any
particular denomination of Christians or their ministers, are
repugnant to this constitution and hereby are abrogated and
rejected."
To New York belongs the honour of having been the first of all
English-speaking states from the time of the Protestant
Reformation, to protect by its courts and laws, the secrecy and
sanctity of auricular confession. In June, 1813, it was
judicially determined that auricular confession as a part of
church discipline protects the priest from being compelled in a
court of law to testify to statements made to him therein. The
decision was made by De Witt Clinton, presiding in the Mayor's
Court of New York City on the trial of one Phillips for theft,
and the priest, whose protest was there considered, was the
revered Father Anthony Kohlmann mentioned above. The decision is
more remarkable because it was contrary to the principles of the
English cases, and the opposite view had the support of
respectable authorities.
Although no form of religion is considered by the State of New
York as having rights superior to any other, yet the fact of the
existence of the Christian religion as the predominating faith
of the people has been uniformly recognized by the courts,
constitutional conventions, and legislatures. As early as 1811,
Chancellor Kent, writing the opinion of the Court in the case of
People vs. Ruggles (8 Johnson 294), made the celebrated dictum:
"We are a Christian people and the morality of the country is
deeply ingrafted upon Christianity." This famous case arose on
the conviction of the defendant for blasphemy in maliciously
reviling Jesus Christ in a public place. In the absence of a
specific statute the question was presented whether such an act
was in New York a crime at common law. The Court held that it
was, because to vilify the Author of Christianity under the
circumstances presented was a gross violation of decency and
good order, and blasphemy was an abuse of the right of religious
liberty. The court further held that, though the Constitution
discarded religious establishments, it did not forbid judicial
cognizance of those offences against religion and morality which
have no reference to any such establishment or to any particular
form of government, but are punishable because they strike at
the root of moral obligation and weaken social ties; that the
Constitution never meant to withdraw religion in general, and
with it the best sanctions of moral and social obligation, from
all consideration and notice of the law; and that the framers
intended only to banish test oaths, disabilities and the
burdens, and sometimes the oppressions, of Church
establishments, and to secure the people of the State freedom
from coercion and an equality of right on the subject of
religion.
This decision of the Supreme Court that, although Christianity
is not the religion of the State, considered as a political
corporation, it is nevertheless closely interwoven into the
texture of society and is intimately connected with all the
social habits, customs, and modes of life of the people, gave
offence in certain quarters. In view of this Ruggles case, an
amendment was proposed in the Constitutional Convention of 1821
to the effect that the judiciary should not declare any
particular religion to be the law of the land. It was rejected
after a full debate in which its opponents, while differing in
details, agreed "that the Christian religion was engrafted upon
the law and entitled to protection as the basis of morals and
the strength of Government." In 1861 a similar question was
presented for decision in the well-known case of Lindenmuller
vs. People (33 Barbour Reports 548). The plaintiff sought from
the court an injunction to restrain the police of New York City
from interfering with theatrical performances on Sunday. The
opinion of the Supreme Court was written by Justice William F.
Allen, a most distinguished jurist, and was afterwards (1877)
adopted by the Court of Appeals as the decision of the highest
court. It contains an admirable and exhaustive study of the
Sunday laws. It takes the claim of the plaintiff, stated
broadly, to be that "the Bible, and religion with all its
ordinances, including the Sabbath, are as effectually abolished
by the Constitution as they were in France during the
Revolution, and so effectually abolished that duties may not be
enforced as duties to the State because they have been
heretofore associated with acts of religious worship or
connected with religious duties." It then proceeds: "It would be
strange that a people, Christian in doctrine and worship, many
of whom or whose forefathers had sought these shores for the
privilege of worshipping God in simplicity and purity of faith,
and who regarded religion as the basis of their civil liberty
and the foundation of their rights, should, in their zeal to
secure to all the freedom of conscience which they valued so
highly, solemnly repudiate and put beyond the pale of the law
the religion which was as dear to them as life and dethrone the
God, who, they openly and avowedly profess to believe, had been
their protector and guide as a people." The Court announced the
broad decision that every act done, maliciously tending to bring
religion into contempt, may be punished at common law, and the
Christian Sabbath, as one of the institutions of religion, may
be protected from desecration by such laws as the Legislature in
their wisdom may deem necessary to secure to the community the
privilege of an undisturbed worship, and to the day itself that
outward respect and observance which may be deemed essential to
the peace and good order of society, and to preserve religion
and its ordinances from open reviling and contempt. It further
held that this must be considered, not as a duty to God, but as
a duty to society and to the State. This decision firmly
established the proposition that, as a civil and political
institution, the establishment and regulation of a Sabbath are
within the just powers of civil government. It remains the law
of the State confirmed by many decisions up to this time.
Many interesting questions have arisen from time to time in the
courts as to how far the English doctrines as to "superstitious
uses", mortmain, and charities, especially in relation to the
ownership of lands by religious corporations and charitable
corporations and as to their capacity to take charitable
bequests and devises, remained the law of the State under the
Constitution. As to superstitious uses, it has been expressly
held that that English post-Reformation doctrine has no place in
this State; that those professing the Roman Catholic Faith are
entitled in law to the same respect and protection in their
religious observances as those of any other denomination, and
that these observances cannot be condemned as superstitious by
any court as matter by law. The right to make provision for
Masses for the dead by contracts made inter vivos was expressly
proclaimed by the Court of Appeals. Direct bequests for Masses
are in law "charities" and to be considered as such. As to these
charities generally, the Court of Appeals in 1888 settled
finally after much discussion that the English doctrine of
trusts for charitable uses, with all its refinements, was not
the law in New York; that the settled policy of the State was
clear, and consisted in the creation of a system of public
charities to be administered through the medium of corporate
bodies, created by legislative power and endowed with the same
legal capacity to hold property for their corporate purposes, as
a private person or an ordinary private corporation had to
receive and hold transfers of property. It was decided,
therefore, in the leading case of Holland vs. Alcock (108 New
York Reports 329), that direct bequests for Masses cannot be
made definitely as such except to incorporated churches or other
corporations having legal power to take property for such
purposes. There is no difficulty in practice, however, in this
regard, as Mass legacies are now either given to an incorporated
church directly, or are left as personal bequests accompanied by
requests, which in law do not derogate from the absolute quality
of the gift.
However, it is to be noted that the rules laid down by the Court
of Appeals in the matter of charities have been radically
changed by legislation since 1888. The decision of the Court of
Appeals in the Tilden will case, by which the elaborate plans
for public charity made by Samuel J. Tilden were defeated by the
application of these rules, was followed almost immediately by
Chapter 701 of the Laws of 1893, which provides that gifts by
will for charitable purposes shall not be defeated because of
indefiniteness in designating the beneficiaries, and that the
power in the regulation of the gifts for charitable purposes
formerly exercised by the Court of Chancery under the ancient
law of England should be restored and vested in the Supreme
Court as a Court of Equity. The Court of Appeals construing this
statute has held that the existence of a competent corporation
or other definable trustee with power to take is no longer
necessary for the validity of a trust for charitable uses, and
that any legal trust for such purposes may be executed by proper
trustees if such are named, and, if none are named, the trust
will be administered by the Supreme Court. It is important to
note, however, that this act must be confined to the cases to
which it applies, and that it does not enable an unincorporated
charity or association to take bequests or devises.
There exist, however, notwithstanding the liberality of the New
York system, some important restrictions upon the conduct of
religious and charitable corporations. The better opinion and
the weight of judicial authority are, that, notwithstanding the
repealing act of the Legislature of 1788 above noted, the
English statutes of Elizabeth, which restricted religious and
charitable corporations, may hold in the alienation and
encumbering of their real estate, have been adopted as the law
of this State, and that such acts can only be lawfully done
under the order of the Supreme Court. Limitations upon the value
of the property and the amount of the income of religious and
charitable corporations have also been uniformly made by the New
York Statutes. The present law, however, is most liberal in this
respect, the property of such corporations being limited to
$6,000,000 and the annual income to $600,000, and provision is
also made that no increase in the value of property arising
otherwise than from improvements made thereon by the owners
shall be taken into account. By recent act also the strict
requirements for accounting to the Supreme Court, the successor
of the Court of Chancery, as to their property and income, which
in the early statutes controlled such corporations, are confined
to cases where the attorney-general intervenes for the purpose
by petition to the Supreme Court upon proper cause being shown.
The law of New York on the general subject of the Church and the
legal position of the latter before the law has been defined by
the statutes and numerous decisions. The results may be briefly
stated as follows: Religious societies as such are not legal
entities, although as an aggregation of the individuals
composing them, for motives of convenience, they are recognised
as existing in certain cases. They can neither sue nor be sued
in civil courts. They cannot hold property directly, although
they may control property held by others for their use or upon
trusts created by them. The existence, however, of the Church
proper, as an organized legal entity, is not recognized by the
municipal law of New York. There is no statute which authorizes
the incorporation of the Church at large. The incorporation is
generally made of the congregation or assemblage of persons
accustomed statedly to meet for Divine worship, although
provision has been made for the incorporation of special
ecclesiastical bodies with governing authority over churches.
For example, the Catholic dioceses of Albany, Buffalo, and
Brooklyn have been thus incorporated formally. The general plan
provides specially for the incorporation and government of the
churches of the separate denominations, as gathered into
congregations. Each important denomination, therefore, has its
own particular provisions in the Religious Corporation Law, the
general statute of the State which has codified these laws and
decisions. In the case of the Roman Catholic Church,
incorporation is obtained in this way. A certificate of
incorporation must be executed by the archbishop or bishop, the
vicar-general of the diocese, the rector of the congregation,
and two laymen thereof, selected by such officials or a majority
of them. It must state the corporate name of the church, and
also the municipality where its principal place of worship
exists or is intended to be located. On filing such certificate
with the clerk of the county in which the principal place of
worship is or is intended to be, or with the Secretary of State
in certain cases, the corporation is created.
Questions of the civil rights of persons, relating either to
themselves or to property, whatever may be their relations to
church organizations, are as a matter of course the subject of
adjudication in the civil tribunals. But judicial notice will be
taken of the existence of the church discipline or government in
some cases, and it is always the subject of evidence. When,
therefore, personal rights and rights of property are in cases
in the courts dependent upon questions of doctrine, discipline,
church government, customs, or law, the civil court will
consider as controlling and binding the determinations made on
such questions by the highest tribunal within the Church to
which they have been presented. While a clergyman, or other
person, may always insist that his civil or property rights as
an individual shall be determined according to the law of the
land, his relations, rights, and obligations arising from his
position as a member of some religious body must be determined
according to the laws and procedure enacted by that body for
such purpose. Where it appeared, therefore, in one case that
questions growing out of relations between a priest and his
bishop had been submitted by the parties to an ecclesiastical
tribunal which the church itself had organized for hearing such
causes and was there decided by it, it was held by the Court of
Appeals that the civil courts were justified in refusing to
proceed further, and that the decision of the Church judicatory
in the matter was a bar and a good defence (Baxter vs.
McDonnell, 155 New York, 83). The Church at large, however,
under the law of New York depends wholly upon moral power to
carry on its functions, without the possibility of appeal to the
civil authorities for aid either through the Legislature or the
Court. Where there is no incorporation, those who deal with the
Church must trust for the performance of civil obligations to
the honour and good faith of the members. The congregations
formed into civil corporations are governed by the principles of
the common law and statute law. With their doctrinal peculiarity
and denominational character the courts have nothing to do,
except to carry out the statutes which protect their rights in
this respect. However these statutory rights are, as will be
seen, very extensive. Generally speaking, whatever the
corporation chooses to do that is within their corporate power
is lawful except where restricted by express statute.
Control of Churches. From time to time important restrictions
upon the general power of the religious corporations in
particular denominations have been made. The present Religious
Corporation Law, for example, requires the trustees of such a
body to administer the temporalities of the church in accordance
with the discipline, rules, and usages of the religious
denomination or ecclesiastical governing body, if any, with
which the corporation is connected, and in accordance with the
provisions of law relating thereto, and further for the support
and maintenance of the corporation and its denominational or
charitable work. It requires also the consent of the bishops and
other officers to the mortgage, lease, or conveyance of the real
property of certain churches. In the case of Catholic churches
it is expressly provided also that no act or proceeding of the
trustees of any such church shall be valid without the express
sanction of the archbishop or bishop of the diocese or, in case
of his absence, of the vicar-general or administrator. To
prevent the creation of abuses from the generality of any of its
provisions, the statute contains a further section directing
that no provision thereof shall authorize the fixing or changing
of the time, nature, or order of public or social or other
worship of any church in any other manner or by any other
authority than in the manner and by the authority provided in
the laws, regulations, practice, discipline, rules, and usages
of the religious denomination or ecclesiastical governing body,
if any, with which the church corporation is connected, except
in churches which have a congregational form of government.
Ecclesiastical Persons. The relations of ecclesiastical persons
one to the other have also been considered by the courts. It has
been held that the personal contracts of a bishop are the same
as those of a layman as far as their form, force and effect are
concerned. It has been determined, however, that the relation of
master and servant does not exist between a bishop and his
priests, but only that of ecclesiastical superior and inferior.
Finally, the courts have ruled that a priest or minister in any
church by assuming that relation necessarily subjects his
conduct in that capacity to the law and customs of the
ecclesiastical body from which he derives his office and in
whose name he exercises his functions.
Marriage. Until very recent times New York followed the common
law respecting marriage. All that was required for a valid
marriage was the deliberate consent of competent parties
entering into a present agreement. No ceremony or intervention
of a civil authority was necessary.
However, it is now provided that, although the contract of
marriage is still in law a civil contract, marriages not
ceremonial must be proven by writings authenticated by the
parties under strict formalities and in the presence of at least
two witnesses and recorded in the proper county clerk's office.
It is now provided also that ceremonial marriages must not be
celebrated without first obtaining a marriage licence. It is to
be noted, however, that a failure to procure the marriage
licence does not invalidate a ceremonial marriage, but only
subjects the offending clergyman or magistrate who officiates
thereat to the penalties of the statute. All clergymen and
certain magistrates are given power to solemnize marriages. No
particular form is required except that the parties must
expressly declare that they take each other as husband or wife.
In every case one witness besides the clergyman or magistrate
must be present at the ceremony. It is provided, however, that
modes of solemnizing marriage adopted by any religious
denomination are to be regarded as valid notwithstanding the
statute. This amending statute was passed at the session of
1907, and there are as yet no important adjudications upon it.
Annulment of Marriage. An action to annul her marriage may be
brought by a woman where she was under sixteen years of age at
the time of the marriage and the consent of her parents or
guardian was not had and the marriage was not consummated and
not ratified by mutual assent after she attained the age of
sixteen years. Either the husband or wife may sue for annulment
of marriage for lunacy, nonage, prior valid marriage, or because
consent was obtained by force, duress, or fraud, and finally for
physical incapacity under certain rigid restrictions. The
tendency of the courts of late years is to construe the
provision as to fraud liberally, and annulment has been granted
on this ground where the husband has been convicted of a felony
and concealed the fact before the marriage, and again where
false representations had been made before the marriage by the
woman as to the birth of a child to the plaintiff. The Court of
Appeals in the last case held, as the reasonable construction of
the statute, that the essential fact to be shown was that the
fraud was material to the degree that, had it not been
practised, the party deceived would not have consented to the
marriage (Di Lorenzo vs. Di Lorenzo, 174 New York, 467 and 471).
This decision, it should be noted, was put squarely on the
ground that in New York marriage is a civil contract to which
the consent of parties capable in law of contracting is
essential, and, where the consent is obtained by legal fraud,
the marriage may be annulled as in the case of any other
contract. Condonation of the force, duress, or fraud is required
to be assumed from the fact of voluntary cohabitation after
knowledge of the facts by the innocent party, and will, if
established, defeat the action. Provision is also made for an
action for the annulment of a marriage in certain cases at the
instance of any relative having an interest in having it
annulled or by a parent or guardian or next friend either in the
lifetime of a party or after his or her death, where such an
action will further the cause of justice.
Divorce. Actions for absolute divorce and the dissolution of
marriage can be maintained only for the cause of adultery. The
New York Courts will hear no action for divorce unless both
parties were residents of the State when the offence was
committed, or were married within the State, or the plaintiff
was a resident of the State at the time of the offence and is
resident when the action is commenced, or finally when the
offence was committed within the State and the injured party is
a resident of the State when the action is commenced. Divorces
obtained by citizens of New York in the courts of foreign
jurisdiction are not recognized as valid in the State of New
York unless personal jurisdiction of both of the parties is
properly obtained by the foreign courts. Collusion of the
parties is strictly guarded against. Condonation of the offence
is made a defence. The action must be brought within five years
after the discovery of the offence. Adultery by the plaintiff is
a complete defence to the action. The provisions for the custody
of the children of a dissolved marriage and for the maintenance
of the innocent wife and children are very detailed and
effective. Remarriage is forbidden to the guilty party during
the life of the spouse, unless, after five years have elapsed,
proof is made of his or her uniform good conduct, when the
defendant may be permitted by the Court to marry again. The
practical effect of these prohibitions is very slight because
the entire validity of the subsequent marriages of guilty
parties in New York divorce actions, when they are made out of
the State of New York, is recognized by the New York courts, the
only penalty provided for the disobedience to the decree being
the punishment of the offender for contempt of court, and the
infliction of this penalty is unheard of at the present day. The
divorce law of New York, it may be noted, is more conservative
than that of any other state in the Union except South Carolina,
where no divorce a vinculo is permitted. Limited divorce or
decree of separation a mensa et thoro is granted for numerous
causes, viz: cruel and inhuman treatment, abandonment, neglect
or refusal to provide for the wife, and conduct making it unsafe
and improper for the plaintiff to cohabit with the defendant.
The usual purpose of actions for limited divorce is to provide
support for the children and alimony for the wife out of the
husband's funds after the husband and wife have separated. These
actions are comparatively infrequent. The judgment in them has
of course no effect upon the validity of the marriage bond. It
is granted only for grave cause, and the necessary bona fide
residence of the parties in the State is of strictest proof,
under the terms of the statute.
Charities. The system of charities which has grown up within the
State of New York, whether religious or secular, is one of the
features of its social life. As was said by the Court of Appeals
in 1888 in the famous case of Holland vs. Alcock above noted:
"It is not certain that any political state or society in the
world offers a better system of law for the encouragement of
property limitations in favour of religion and learning, for the
relief of the poor, the care of the insane, of the sick and the
maimed, and the relief of the destitute, than our system of
creating organized bodies by the legislative power and endowing
them with the same legal capacity to hold property which a
private person has to receive and hold transfers of property." A
charitable or benevolent corporation may be formed under the
Membership Corporation Law by five or more persons for any
lawful, charitable, or benevolent purpose. It is subject in
certain respects to the supervision of the State Board of
Charities and of the Supreme Court, but this power of visitation
is not oppressive and never exercised except in case of gross
abuse and under strict provisions as to procedure. State and
municipal aid to private charitable corporations is permitted by
law. Some of the great private charities of the Catholic Church
receive such aid in large amounts, particularly in the great
cities. The public subvention of private charitable corporations
is an old custom in the State, beginning when almost all
charities were in Protestant hands and the Catholic charities
were very few and poor. Although vigorously attacked in the
Constitutional Convention of 1904, it was sustained and
continued by the action of that convention and ratified by the
people of the State. The system has done much for the cause of
the education and maintenance of defective, dependent, and
delinquent children, and for the building up of the hospitals
for the destitute sick and aged in all the religious
denominations. The Catholic protectories of New York and Buffalo
and the Catholic foundling and infant asylums throughout the
State are the models for such institutions in the whole United
States. The charities under Catholic auspices which receive no
State aid are, however, in the vast majority, and are found in
great numbers in every quarter of the State, caring for the
children and the aged, the sick and the destitute. They are
served by an army of devoted religious, both men and women. The
State institutions for the care of the insane and juvenile
delinquents are numerous, and the almshouses, hospitals, and
other charitable agencies under the care of the counties and
other municipalities abound throughout the State. There are
alone sixteen great State hospitals for the insane, conducted
most carefully and successfully.
Restrictions on Bequests and Devises. No person having a parent,
husband, wife, or child can legally devise or bequeath more than
one-half his estate to benevolent, charitable, or religious
institutions, but such disposition is valid to the extent of
one-half. In addition, certain kinds of corporations are still
further restricted in respect to the portion of the estate of
such persons which they may receive: in some cases it is only
one-fourth. In respect to the invalidity by statute of legacies
or devises made by wills executed within two months of the
testator's death, this limitation was formerly widely
applicable. Recent amendments, however, have restricted it to
the corporations formed under the old statutes, and it applies
now to very few others, and these mostly corporations created by
special statutes. Bequests and devises to unincorporated
churches or charities, are, as has been stated, invalid. Foreign
religious and charitable corporations, however, may take
bequests and devises if authorized to do so by their charters.
They are also permitted to carry on unhampered their work in the
State of New York. The legacies and devises to religious,
charitable, and benevolent corporations are exempt from the
succession tax assessed upon legacies and devises in ordinary
cases.
Exemption from Taxation. The Tax Law provides that the real and
personal property of a "corporation or association organized
exclusively for the moral or mental improvement of men or women
or for religious, Bible, tract, charitable; benevolent,
missionary, hospi tal, infirmary, educational, scientific,
literary, library, patriotic, historical, or cemetery purposes
or for the enforcement of law relating to children or animals or
for two or more such purposes and used exclusively for carrying
out thereupon one or more of such purposes", shall be exempt
from taxation. Great care is taken, however, to protect against
the abuse of this right of exemption. In some few cases further
exemptions are also made; thus, for example, real property not
in exclusive use for the above corporate purposes is exempt from
taxation, if the income there-from is devoted exclusively to the
charitable use of the corporation. Property held by any officer
of a religious denomination is entitled to the same exemption
under the same conditions and exceptions as property held by a
religious corporation itself.
Freedom of Worship. It is expressly provided by statute that all
persons committed to or taken charge of by incorporated or
unincorporated houses of refuge, reformatories, protectories, or
other penal institutions, receiving either public moneys or a
per capita sum from any municipality for the support of inmates,
shall be entitled to the free exercise and enjoyment of
religious profession and worship without discrimination or
preference, and that these provisions may be enforced by the
Supreme Court upon petition of any one feeling himself aggrieved
by a violation of it (Prison Law Section 20). It is further
provided that all children committed for destitution or
delinquency by any court or public officer shall, as far as
practicable, be sent to institutions of the same religious faith
as the parents of the child.
Liquor Law. The excise legislation of the State is treated in an
elaborate general statute called the "Liquor Tax Law", but
better known as the "Raines Law" from the name of the late
Senator John Raines who drafted it. In substance it provides for
a State Department of Excise presided over by a commissioner of
excise, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate,
who is given charge of the issuance of all licences to traffic
within the State in intoxicating liquor, and also of the
collection of the licence fees and the supervision of the
enforcement of the drastic penalties provided for violations of
the law. Its purpose was to take away the granting of excise
licences by the local authorities, who had in some cases greatly
abused the power, and also to subject local peace and police
officers to the scrutiny, and in some cases the control of the
State authorities in excise matters. It has resulted generally
in a great improvement in excise conditions throughout the
State, as well as incidentally in an enormous increase in the
revenue of the State from this source. It has caused the almost
complete disappearance of unlicenced liquor-selling, and has
improved general order and decency in the business of
trafficking in liquor, especially in the congested parts of the
cities. The principle of high licence is carefully followed. The
fee for a saloon licence, for example in the Borough of
Manhattan, is $1200 per annum, the charge decreasing, according
to the circumstances, to $150 per annum in the rural districts.
The State is divided into excise districts which are in charge
of deputy commissioners supervised by the staff of the
commissioner of excise at Albany. Although it is an unusual
provision which thus centralizes the power over the liquor
traffic at Albany, and it seems to violate the principle of home
rule adopted by all the public parties, the experiment is on the
whole regarded with satisfaction. It should be noted that this
law has created a very great abuse because of its provision
attaching the right to sell liquor on Sunday to the keeping of
hotels. There have thus sprung into existence the "Raines Law
Hotels", which, satisfying the very inadequate provisions of the
statute, obtain hotel licences without any legitimate business
reason, and primarily for the purpose of selling liquor on
Sunday. They are generally conducted as to their hotel
accommodations in such a way as to be a menace to public order
and decency in the poorer residential districts of the large
cities of the State. They often defy police control, and their
legal status makes their regulation or supervision most
difficult. Earnest efforts have been made for many years to
remedy the evil, but have met with but partial success. Ample
provision is also made for local option as to prohibitive liquor
licences in all localities of the State excepting the larger
cities. It has worked well in practice.
Clergymen. Priests and ministers of the Gospel are exempted from
service on juries and from service in the militia of the State.
A clergyman's real and personal property to the extent of $1500
is exempt from taxation, if he is regularly engaged in
performing his duty, is permanently disabled by impaired health,
or is over seventy-five years old. The dwelling-houses and lots
of religious corporations, actually used by the officiating
clergymen thereof, are also exempt to the extent of $2000. Any
clergyman is empowered at his pleasure to visit all county
jails, workhouses, and State prisons when he is in charge of a
congregation in the town where they are located.
Holidays. The legal holidays of the State are New Year's Day,
Lincoln's Birthday (12 February), Washington's Birthday (22
February), Memorial Day (30 May), Independence Day (4 July),
Labour Day (first Monday of September), Columbus Day (12
October), and Christmas Day. If any of these days fall on
Sunday, the day following is a public holiday. The statute also
provides that the day of the general election, and each day
appointed by the President of the United States or by the
Governor of the State as a day of "general thanksgiving, general
fasting and prayer, or other general religious observances",
shall be holidays. Each Saturday, which is not a holiday, is a
half-holiday. There is of course no religious significance in
the creation of any of these holidays, as far as the State is
concerned. Good Friday, by general custom, is observed as a
holiday throughout the State, although it is not designated as a
legal holiday. The rules of the local school boards throughout
the State also provide liberty to both Christian and Jewish
scholars to take time from the school attendance for religious
observances on their respective holy-days.
EDWARD J. McGUIRE
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand--formerly described as a colony--has, since
September, 1907, by royal proclamation, been granted the style
and designation of "Dominion," the territory remaining, of
course, as before under British sovereignty. It consists of
three main islands (North Island, South Island, sometimes also
called Middle island, and Stewart island) and several groups of
smaller islands lying at some distance from the principal group.
The smaller groups included within the dominion are the Chatham,
Aukland, Campbell, Antipodes, Bounty, Kermadec, and Cook
Islands, along with half a dozen atolls situated outside the
Cook Group. The total area of the dominion--104,751 square
miles--is about one-seventh less than the area of great Britain
and Ireland. The quantity and quality of the grazing land
available has made New Zealand a great wool, meat, and
dairy-produce country. Its agricultural capabilities are very
considerable; its forests yield excellent timber; and its
mineral resources, though as yet but little developed and not
very varied in character, form one of the country's most
valuable assets. Volcanoes, one of which, Ngauruhoe, the highest
cone of Mount Tongariro, was in active eruption in 1909, and a
volcanic belt marks the centre of the North Island. In the North
island also is the wonderland of the boiling geysers--said by
geologists to be the oldest in the world, with the exception of
those in Wyoming and Idaho--and the famous "Hot Lakes" and
pools, which possess great curative virtue for all rheumatic and
skin diseases. An Alpine chain, studded with snow-clad peaks and
mantled with glaciers of greater magnitude than any in the Alps
of Europe, descends along the west coast of the South Island. In
the South Island also are the famous Otago lakes (Wanaka,
Wakatipu, Te Anau, and Manapouri) of which the late Anthony
Trollope wrote, "I do not know that lake scenery could be
finer." The south-west coast of the island is pierced by a
series of sounds or fiords, rivalling in their exquisite beauty
the Norwegian and Alaskan fiords; in the neighbourhood is a
waterfall (the Sutherland Falls) over 1900 feet in height,
Judged by mortality statistics the climate of new Zealand is one
of the best and healthiest in the world. The total population of
the dominion on 31 December, 1908, was 1,020,713. This included
the Maori population of 47,731, and the population of Cook and
other Pacific islands, aggregating 12,340.
I. CIVIL HISTORY
Tasman discovered the islands in 1642 and called them "Nova
Zeelanda," but Captain Cook, who surveyed the coasts in 1769 and
following years, first made them known. The colony was planted
in 1840 by a company, formed in England and known first as the
New Zealand Company, afterwards as the New Zealand Land Company,
which with auxiliary associations founded successively the
settlements of Wellington, Nelson, Taranaki, Otago, and
Canterbury. New Zealand was then constituted a dependency of the
Colony of New South Wales (Australia), but on 3 May, 1841, was
proclaimed a separate colony. A series of native wars, arising
chiefly from endless disputes about land, began in 1843 and
ended in 1869, since which time unbroken peace has prevailed. A
measure of self-government was granted in 1852, and full
responsible government in 1856. The provincial governments
created by the Constitution Act were abolished in 1876, and one
supreme central government established. The Government consists
of a governor, appointed by the crown, and two houses of
Parliament--the legislative council, or upper chamber, with
members nominated by the governor for life (except those
nominated subsequently to September 17, 1891, after which date
all appointments are for seven years only), and the house of
representatives with members elected triennially on an adult
suffrage. The first Speaker of the New Zealand House of
Representatives (1853-60), the late Sire Charles Clifford, was a
Catholic, and his son, Sir George Clifford, one of New Zealand's
prominent public men, though born in the dominion was educated
at Stonyhurst College, and has shown his fidelity to old ties by
naming his principal New Zealand residence "Stonyhurst." There
are a number of Catholic names in the list of past premiers,
cabinet ministers, and members of parliament who have helped to
mould the laws and shape the history of the dominion. The
present premier (1910), the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Ward, P.C.,
K.C.M.G., is a Catholic, and out of a legislative council of
forty-five members five are Catholic.
The prominent feature of the political history of the past
twenty years has been the introduction and development of that
body of "advanced" legislation for which the name of New Zealand
has become more or less famous. The mere enumeration of the
enactments would occupy considerable space. It must suffice to
say that, broadly speaking, their purpose is to fling the shield
of the State over every man who works for his livelihood; and,
in addition to regulating wages, they cover practically every
risk to life, limb, health, and interest of the industrial
classes. It should be mentioned that there is no strong party of
professed State-Socialists in the dominion, and the reforms and
experiments which have been made have in all cases been examined
and taken on their merits, and not otherwise. Employers have
occasionally protested against some of the restrictions imposed,
as being harassing and vexations; but there is no political
party in the country which proposes to repeal these measures,
and there is a general consensus of opinion that, in its main
features, the "advanced legislation" has come to stay. In 1893
an Act came into force which granted the franchise to women. The
women's vote has had no perceptible effect on the relative
position of political parties; but it is generally agreed that
the women voters have been mainly responsible for the marked
increase in recent years of the no-licence vote at the local
option polls. Elections are quieter and more orderly than
formerly.
II. THE MAORIS
The New Zealand natives, or Maoris, as they call themselves, are
generally acknowledged to be intellectually and physically the
finest aboriginal race in the South Sea Islands. Their
magnificent courage, their high intelligence, their splendid
physique and manly bearing, the stirring part they have played
in the history of the country, the very ferocity of their
long-relinquished habits, have all combined to invest them with
a more than ordinary degree of interest and curiosity. Of their
origin it can only be said, broadly, that they belong to the
Polynesian race--ethnologists have tried to trace a likeness to
the Red Indians of North America--and according to tradition
they came to New Zealand about twenty-one generations ago (i.e.,
about five hundred and twenty-five years) from Hawaiki, an
island of the Pacific not identified with any certainty. After
being robbed and despoiled by the early white civilization and
by trader-missionaries, tardy justice has at length been done to
the native race. To-day the Maoris have four members in the
house of representatives and two in the legislative council, all
men of high lineage and natural orators. Until recent years it
was supposed that the Maoris were dying out, but later
statistics show the contrary. The official figures show that the
Maori population fell from 41,93 in 1891 to 39,854 in 1896,
increased to 43,143 in 1901, and further to 47,731 in 1906 (last
census year).
III. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN NEW ZEALAND
The first Catholic settler in New Zealand was an Irishman named
Thomas Poynton, who landed at Hokianga in 1828. Until ten years
later the footsteps of a Catholic priest never pressed New
Zealand soil. Poynton's brave and pious wife, a native of
Wexford County, took her first two children on a journey of over
two thousand weary miles of ocean to be baptized at Sydney.
Through Poynton's entreaties for a missionary the needs of the
country became known, first at Sydney and next at Rome. In 1835
New Zealand was included in the newly created Vicariate
Apostolic of Western Oceanica. In the following year its first
vicar Apostolic, Mgr. Jean Baptiste Francois Pompallier, set out
for his new field of labour with seven members of the Society of
the Marist Brothers, which only a few months before had received
the approval of Pope Gregory XVI. On 10 January, 1838, he, with
three Marist companions, sailed up the Hokianga River, situated
in the far north-west of the Auckland Province. The cross was
planted in the house of the first Catholic settler of the
colony. Irish peasant emigrants were the pioneers of Catholic
colonization in New Zealand; the French missionaries were its
pioneer apostles. Four years later (in 1842) New Zealand was
formed into a separate vicariate, Mgr. Pompallier being named
its first vicar Apostolic. From this time forward events moved
at a rapid pace. In 1848 the colony was divided into two
dioceses, Auckland with its territory extending to 39x of south
latitude forming one diocese, Wellington with the remaining
territory and the adjoining islands forming the second. (See
AUCKLAND, DIOCESE OF.) Bishop Pompallier remained in charge of
Auckland, and Bishop Viard, who had been constituted the first
Bishop of Wellington. In 1869 the Diocese of Dunedin, comprising
Otago, Southland, and Stewart's Island, was carved out of the
Diocese of Wellington, and the Right Rev. Patrick Moran who died
in 1895 was appointed its first bishop. His successor (the
present occupant of the see), the Right rev. Dr. Verdon, was
consecrated in 1896. In 1887, at the petition of the Plenary
Synod of Australasia, held in Sydney in 1885, the hierarchy was
established in New Zealand, and Wellington became the
archiepiscopal see. The Most Rev. Dr. Redwood, S.M., who had
been consecrated Bishop of Wellington in 1874, was created
archbishop and metropolitan by papal brief, receiving the
pallium from the hands of the Right Rev. Dr. Luck, Bishop of
Auckland. The same year (1887) witnessed the erection of the
Diocese of Christchurch. The first and present bishop is the
Right Rev. Dr. Grimes, S.M., consecrated in the same year. Ten
years later New Zealand, hitherto dependent on Australia, was
made a separate ecclesiastical province.
Some idea of the rapid growth of the Catholic population, both
in numbers and in activity, may be gathered from the following
figures. In 1840, when New Zealand was declared a colony, the
number of Catholic colonists was not above 500 in a total
population of some 5000. Eleven years later they numbered 3472
in a total population of 26,707. At the last Government census
(1906) the Catholic total had amounted to 126,995. The total
population of the dominion (exclusive of Maoris), according to
the same census, was 888,578 so that the Catholic population is
slightly over one-seventh of the whole. To-day (1910) the
estimated Catholic population of New Zealand is over 130,000
with 4 dioceses, 1 archbishop, 3 suffragan bishops, 212 priests,
62 religious brothers, 855 nuns, 333 churches, 2 ecclesiastical
seminaries (comprising 1 provincial ecclesiastical seminary and
1 ecclesiastical seminary for the Marist Order), 2 colleges for
boys, 32 boarding and high schools, 18 superior day schools, 15
charitable institutions, and 112 Catholic primary schools.
According to the "New Zealand Official Year-Book" for 1909 (a
Government publication) the total number of Catholic schools in
the dominion is 152 and the number of Catholic pupils attending
is 12,650. New Zealand has added one new religious congregation
(the Sisters of Our Lady of Compassion), founded in 1884 by
Mother Mary Aubert, to "Heaven's Army of Charity" in the
Catholic Church. Under the direction of their venerable
foundress the members of the order conduct schools for the
Maoris at Hiruharama (Jerusalem) on the Wanganui River, a home
for incurables, Wellington, and a home for incurable children,
Island Bay, Wellington. The order has quite recently extended
its operations to Auckland.
The ordinary organization of the laity, as usually found in
English-speaking countries, are well and solidly established
throughout the dominion. For benefit purposes New Zealand formed
a separate district of the Hibernian Australasian Catholic
benefit Society. Thanks to capable management, due to the fact
that the society has drawn to its ranks the ablest and most
representative of the laity, the organization is making
remarkable progress. On 30 January, 1910, the membership was
reported at 2632; the funeral fund stood at £7795:2:2 (nearly
$40,000) and the sick fund amounted to £12,558:5:0 (over
$62,000). The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was probably the
earliest lay orgainzation established in new Zealand, a
conferrence formed at Christchurch in July, 1867, by the Rev.
Fr. Chasteagner, S.M., being the first founded in Australasia.
In almost every parish there are young men's clubs, social,
literary, and athletic; in connection with these a federation
has been formed under the name of the Federated Catholic Clubs
of New Zealand. In 1909 a Newman Society, on the lines of the
Oxford University Newman Society, but with wider and more
directly practical objects, was inaugurated by the Catholic
graduates and undergraduates of New Zealand University. As the
number of university men amongst New Zealand Catholics is now
very considerable, the new society promises to prove an
important factor in the defence and propagation of the faith.
IV. MISSIONS TO THE MAORIS
From the outset, the conversion of the native race was set in
the forefront of the Church's work in this new land. When the
Marist Fathers, having been withdrawn to the Diocese of
Wellington, left the Diocese of Auckland in 1850, they had in
that part of the North Island 5044 neophytes. In 1853 there were
about a thousand native Christians in the Diocese of Wellington.
Homes and schools for native children were founded by the
Sisters of Mercy at Auckland and Wellington; and in 1857 the
governor, Sir George Grey, in his official report to Parliament,
gave high praise to the Catholic schools among the Maoris. Up
until 1860 the Maori mission was most flourishing. Then came the
long-drawn years of fierce racial warfare, during which the
natives kept their territory closed against all white men; and
the Catholic missions were almost completely ruined. They are
being steadily built up once more by two bodies of earnest and
devoted men, the Marist Fathers in the Archdiocese of Wellington
and the Diocese of Christchurch, and the Mill Hill Fathers in
the Diocese of Auckland. The progress made during the last
twenty-five years may be gathered from the following summaries.
(a) The Archdiocese of Wellington and Diocese of Christchurch
(districts: Otaki, Hiruharama, Raetihi, Wairoa, and Okato) have
about 40 stations and 19 churches, served by 7 priests. There
are also 4 native schools; 1 highly efficient native high
school, maintained by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions;
and 1 orphanage, conducted by the Sisters of Our Lady of
Compassion. The total number of Catholic Maoris is about 2000.
Several very successful conventions of Maori tribes have been
held in Otaki since 1903. At the last (held in June, 1909),
which was attended by His Grace Archbishop Redwood, the
institution of a Maori Catholic magazine was decided upon and
has since been carried out. (b) The Diocese of Auckland
(districts: Rotorua, headquarters of the provincial of the
mission, Matata, Tauranga, Hokianga, Okaihau, Whangaroa,
Wangarei, Dargaville, and Coromandel) has 57 stations and 22
churches, served by 16 priests, of whom 9 are wholly and 7 are
partly engaged on the Maori mission. There are 4 native schools
conducted by the Sisters of St. Joseph. The total number of
catholic Maoris is about 4000. Throughout the three dioceses the
Maori population is extremely scattered, and the missionaries
have frequently to travel great distances. As the deleterious
influence of Maori tohungaism (belief in wizards and
"medicine-men") is on the wane, and the rancorous feelings
engendered by the war are now subsiding, the prospect in this
distant outpost of the mission field is most hopeful and
promising.
V. EDUCATION
Primary education is compulsory in New Zealand; and of every 100
persons in the dominion at the time of the census of 1906, 83.5
could read and write, 1.6 could read only, and 14.9 could
neither read nor write. As mentioned above, New Zealand became a
self-governing colony in 1852. Each province had its separate
legislature and the control of education within its borders, and
most of the provinces subsidized denominational schools. The
provincial legislatures were abolished by the Acts of 1875-6,
and one of the early measures (1877) of the centralized New
Zealand Government was to abolish aid to denominational schools
and to introduce the (so-called) national system known as "free,
secular, and compulsory." From that day to this the entire
public school system of New Zealand has remained, legally,
purely secular.
From the first Catholics have protested against the exclusion of
Christian teaching from the schools; and they have refused, and
continue to refuse (unless where forced by circumstances) to
send their children to schools from which their religion is
excluded. As in other countries, so here, Catholics have shown
the sincerity of their protest by creating, at enormous and
continual sacrifices, a great rival system of education under
which some 13,000 Catholic children are nurtured into a full and
wholesome development of the faculties that God has bestowed
upon them. With scarcely an exception, Catholic primary schools
follow precisely the same secular curriculum as that prescribed
under the Education Act for the public schools; and they are
every year inspected and examined, under precisely the same
conditions as are the public schools, by the State inspectors.
The cost of carrying on the public school system is not derived
from any special rate or tax, but the amount is paid out of the
Consolidated Fund, to which Catholics, as taxpayers, contribute
their share. Catholics are thus subjected to a double impost:
they have to bear the cost of building, equipping, and
maintaining their own schools, and they are compelled also to
contribute their quota of taxation for the maintenance of the
public school system, of which, from conscientious motives, they
cannot avail themselves. New Zealand Catholics have never asked
or desired a grant for the religious education which is imparted
in their schools. But hey have urged, and they continue to urge,
their claim to a fair share of that taxation to which they
themselves contribute, in return for the purely secular
instruction which, in accordance with the Government programme,
is given in the Catholic schools. Their standing protest against
the injustice so long inflicted on them by the various
governments of the country and their unyielding demand for a
recognition of the right of Christian taxpayers to have their
children educated in accordance with Christian principles,
constitute what is known, par excellence, as "the education
question" in New Zealand. It is unhappily necessary to add that
of late years, for no very obvious or adequate reason, Catholic
agitation on the subject has not been so active as it once was;
and unless a forward movement is made, the prospects of success
for the cause, on behalf of which such splendid battles have
been fought and such heroic sacrifices have been endured, are
exceedingly remote.
VI. LITERATURE AND CATHOLIC JOURNALISM
There is no New Zealand literature in the broad and general
acceptation of the term. The usual reason assigned is that so
young a country has not yet had time to evolve a literature of
its own; but perhaps an equally important factor in producing
and maintaining the existing condition of things is the
smallness of the market for literary wares, in consequence of
which New Zealand writers possessing exceptional talent
inevitably gravitate towards Sydney or London. In general
literature the one conspicuous name is that of Thomas Bracken,
Irishman and Catholic, author of several volumes of poems, which
have attained great popularity both in Australia and in New
Zealand. Amongst scientific writers, notable catholic names are
those of the late W. M. Maskell, formerly Registrar of New
Zealand University, and the Very rev. Dr. Kennedy, S.M., B.A.,
D.D., F.R.A.S., present Rector of St. Patrick's College, both of
whom have made many valuable contributions to the pages of
scientific journals and the proceedings of learned societies.
As usually happens in countries that are overwhelmingly
Protestant, by far the greater portion of the purely Catholic
literature that has been published in New Zealand is apologetic
in character. "What True Free-masonry Is: Why it is condemned,"
published in 1885 by the Rev. Thomas Keane, is a detailed and
extremely effective treatment of the subject. "Disunion and
Reunion," by the Re. W. J. Madden, is a popular and ably written
review of the course and causes of the Protestant Reformation.
One of the most learned and certainly the most prolific of the
contributors to Catholic literature in New Zealand was the Very
Rev. T. LeMenant des Chesnais, S.M., recently deceased. His
works include "Nonconformists and the Church"; "Out of the
Maze"; "The Temuka Tournament" (a controversy); a volume on
"Spiritism"; "The Church and the World"; etc. The last-named
work, published only a few years before the venerable author's
death, was very favourably reviewed by English and American
papers. A notable addition to the Catholic literature of the
dominion has been the recent publication of three volumes from
the pen of the editor of the "New Zealand Tablet," the Rev. H.
W. Cleary, D.D. These works, "Catholic Marriages," an exposition
and defence of the decree "Ne Temere," "An Impeached Nation;
Being a Study of Irish Outrages:" and "Secular versus Religious
Education: A Discussion," are thorough in the treatment of their
respective subjects and possess value of a permanent character.
A modest beginning has been made towards the compilation of a
detailed history of the Catholic Church in the dominion by the
publications, a few months ago, of "The Church in New Zealand:
Memoirs of the early Days," by J. J. Wilson.
The history of Catholic journalism in New Zealand is in effect
the history of the "New Zealand Tablet," founded by the late
Bishop Moran in 1873, the Catholics of this country having
followed the principle that it is better to be represented by
one strong paper than to have a multiplicity of publications.
From the first the paper has been fortunate in its editors. In
the early days the work done by its revered founder, in his
battle for Catholic rights, and by his valued lay assistant, Mr.
J. F. Perrin, was of a solid character. The prestige and
influence of the paper was still further enhanced by the Rev.
Henry W. Cleary, D. D., who made the "New Zealand Tablet" a
power in the land, and won the respect of all sections of the
community not only for the Catholic paper but for the Catholic
body which it represents. In February, 1910, Dr. Cleary was
appointed Bishop of Auckland, and was consecrated on 21 August
in Enniscorthy cathedral, Co. Wexford, Ireland. It is safe to
say that there are few countries in the world in which, in
proportion to size and population, the Catholic press has a
higher status than in New Zealand.
POMPALLIER, Early History of the Catholic Church in Oceania
(E.T., Auckland, 1888); MORAN, History of the Catholic Church in
Australasia (Sydney); Australasian Catholic Directory for 1910;
WILSON, The Church in New Zealand: Memoirs of the Early Days
(Dunedin, 1910); DILKE, Greater Britain (1885); DAVITT, Life and
Progress in Australasia (London, 1898); REEVES, New Zealand
(London, s.d.); JOSE, History of Australasis (Sydney, 1901);
REEVES, The Long White Cloud (London, 1898): WRIGHT AND REEVES,
New Zealand (London, 1908); New Zealand Official Year-Book for
1906 (last census year) and for 1909; DOUGLAS, The Dominion of
New Zealand (London, 1909); HOCKEN, A Bibliography of the
Literature Relating to New Zealand (Wellington, 1909), issued by
the New Zealand Government--the most complete bibliography that
has been published. It is no mere list of books, but gives a
full account of each item, from TASMAN's Journal of 1643
onwards, with explanatory notes, biographical information and
criticism, synopsis of important periodicals, and a full index.
J.A. SCOTT
Nicaea
Nicaea
Titular see of Bithynia Secunda, situated on Lake Ascanius, in a
fertile plain, but very unhealthful in summer. It was first
colonized by the Battaei and was called Ancora or Helicora.
Destroyed by the Mysians, it was rebuilt about 315 B.C. by
Antigonus, after his victory over Eumenius, and was thenceforth
called Antigonia. Later Lysimachus enlarged it and called it
Nicaea in honour of his wife. At first the kings of Bithynia
resided there almost as often as at Nicomedia between which and
Nicaea arose a struggle for influence. It was the birthplace of
the astronomer Hipparcus and the historian Dio Cassius. Pliny
the Younger frequently mentions the city and its public
monuments. Numerous coins of Nicaea attest the interest of the
emperors. After the first Ecumenical Council, held there in 325,
Constantine gave it the title of metropolis, which Valens
afterwards withdrew, but which it retained ecclesiastically. In
the fifth century it took three suffragans from the jurisdiction
of Nicomedia, and later six. In 787 a second Ecumenical Council
(the seventh) was held there against the Iconoclasts, which,
like the first, assembled more than 300 bishops. Among its
archbishops, of whom Le Quien (Oriens Christ., I, 639-56) names
forty-six, those worthy or mention are Theognis, the first known
bishop, a partisan of Arius at the council of 325; Anastasius, a
sixth-century writer; Sts. Peter and Theophanes Graptos, two
victims of the Iconoclasts in the ninth century; Ignatius, the
biographer of the patriarch Tarasius and Nicephorus; Gregory
Asbestus, former metropolitan of Syracuse and the consecrator of
Photius; Eustratius, commentator on Aristotle and polemist under
Alexius Comnenus; and Bessarion, afterwards cardinal.
Nicaea grew more important during the Middle Ages. Captured by
the Seljukids at an unknown date, perhaps subsequent to the
revolt of Melissenus against Nicephorus Botaniates, it was
afterwards ceded to the Turks by Alexius Comnenus. In 1096 the
troops of Peter the Hermit, having attempted to capture the
town, were completely defeated and massacred. In June, 1097, the
city was taken, after a memorable siege, by the Crusaders and
ceded by them to the Greek Emperor Alexius I. It was retained,
but with great difficulty, during the twelfth century. After the
capture of Constantinople by the Latins in 1204 Nicaea,
restored, fortified, and embellished, became until 1261 the
capital of the new Byzantine Empire of the Lascari or
Palaeologi. For nearly sixty years it played a most important
part. It was finally captured by the Turkish Sultan Orkhan in
1333, from which time it has formed a part of the Ottoman
Empire. To-day Nicaea is called Isnik. It is a village of 1500
Greek and Turkish inhabitants in the sandjak of Erthogrul and
the vilayet of Brusa. The Greek metropolitan resides at Ghemlek,
the ancient Chios. The ramparts, several times restored and now
in a good state of preservation, are 4841 yards in
circumference. There are 238 towers, some of them very ancient.
Four ancient gates are well preserved. Among the monuments may
be mentioned Yechil-Djami, the Green Mosque, and the church of
the Assumption, probably of the ninth century, the mosaics of
which are very rich.
SMITH, Dict. Greek and Roman Geog., II (London, 1870), 422;
TEXIER, Asie Mineure (Paris, 1862), 91-110; CUINET, LaTurquie d'
Asie, IV (Paris, 1894), 185-90; WULF, Die Koimesis Kirche in
Nicaea und ihre Mosaiken (Strasburg, 1890).
S. VAILHÉ
First Council of Nicaea
The First Council of Nicaea
First Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church, held in 325 on
the occasion of the heresy of Arius (Arianism). As early as 320
or 321 St. Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, convoked a council
at Alexandria at which more than one hundred bishops from Egypt
and Libya anathematized Arius. The latter continued to officiate
in his church and to recruit followers. Being finally driven
out, he went to Palestine and from there to Nicomedia. During
this time St. Alexander published his "Epistola encyclica", to
which Arius replied; but henceforth it was evident that the
quarrel had gone beyond the possibility of human control.
Sozomen even speaks of a Council of Bithynia which addressed an
encyclical to all the bishops asking them to receive the Arians
into the communion of the Church. This discord, and the war
which soon broke out between Constantine and Licinius, added to
the disorder and partly explains the progress of the religious
conflict during the years 322-3. Finally Constantine, having
conquered Licinius and become sole emperor, concerned himself
with the re-establishment of religious peace as well as of civil
order. He addressed letters to St. Alexander and to Arius
deprecating these heated controversies regarding questions of no
practical importance, and advising the adversaries to agree
without delay. It was evident that the emperor did not then
grasp the significance of the Arian controversy. Hosius of
Cordova, his counsellor in religious matters, bore the imperial
letter to Alexandria, but failed in his conciliatory mission.
Seeing this, the emperor, perhaps advised by Hosius, judged no
remedy more apt to restore peace in the Church than the
convocation of an oecumenical council.
The emperor himself, in very respectful letters, begged the
bishops of every country to come promptly to Nicaea. Several
bishops from outside the Roman Empire (e.g., from Persia) came
to the Council. It is not historically known whether the emperor
in convoking the Council acted solely in his own name or in
concert with the pope; however, it is probable that Constantine
and Sylvester came to an agreement (see POPE ST. SYLVESTER I).
In order to expedite the assembling of the Council, the emperor
placed at the disposal of the bishops the public conveyances and
posts of the empire; moreover, while the Council lasted he
provided abundantly for the maintenance of the members. The
choice of Nicaea was favourable to the assembling of a large
number of bishops. It was easily accessible to the bishops of
nearly all the provinces, but especially to those of Asia,
Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Greece, and Thrace. The sessions were
held in the principal church, and in the central hall of the
imperial palace. A large place was indeed necessary to receive
such an assembly, though the exact number is not known with
certainty. Eusebius speaks of more than 250 bishops, and later
Arabic manuscripts raise the figure to 2000 - an evident
exaggeration in which, however, it is impossible to discover the
approximate total number of bishops, as well as of the priests,
deacons, and acolytes, of whom it is said that a great number
were also present. St. Athanasius, a member of the council
speaks of 300, and in his letter "Ad Afros" he says explicitly
318. This figure is almost universally adopted, and there seems
to be no good reason for rejecting it. Most of the bishops
present were Greeks; among the Latins we know only Hosius of
Cordova, Cecilian of Carthage, Mark of Calabria, Nicasius of
Dijon, Donnus of Stridon in Pannonia, and the two Roman priests,
Victor and Vincentius, representing the pope. The assembly
numbered among its most famous members St. Alexander of
Alexandria, Eustathius of Antioch, Macarius of Jerusalem,
Eusebius of Nicomedia, Eusebius of Caesarea, and Nicholas of
Myra. Some had suffered during the last persecution; others were
poorly enough acquainted with Christian theology. Among the
members was a young deacon, Athanasius of Alexandria, for whom
this Council was to be the prelude to a life of conflict and of
glory (see ST. ATHANASIUS).
The year 325 is accepted without hesitation as that of the First
Council of Nicaea. There is less agreement among our early
authorities as to the month and day of the opening. In order to
reconcile the indications furnished by Socrates and by the Acts
of the Council of Chalcedon, this date may, perhaps, be taken as
20 May, and that of the drawing up of the symbol as 19 June. It
may be assumed without too great hardihood that the synod,
having been convoked for 20 May, in the absence of the emperor
held meetings of a less solemn character until 14 June, when
after the emperor's arrival, the sessions properly so called
began, the symbol being formulated on 19 June, after which
various matters - the paschal controversy, etc. - were dealt
with, and the sessions came to an end 25 August. The Council was
opened by Constantine with the greatest solemnity. The emperor
waited until all the bishops had taken their seats before making
his entry. He was clad in gold and covered with precious stones
in the fashion of an Oriental sovereign. A chair of gold had
been made ready for him, and when he had taken his place the
bishops seated themselves. After he had been addressed in a
hurried allocution, the emperor made an address in Latin,
expressing his will that religious peace should be
re-established. He had opened the session as honorary president,
and he had assisted at the subsequent sessions, but the
direction of the theological discussions was abandoned, as was
fitting, to the ecclesiastical leaders of the council. The
actual president seems to have been Hosius of Cordova, assisted
by the pope's legates, Victor and Vincentius.
The emperor began by making the bishops understand that they had
a greater and better business in hand than personal quarrels and
interminable recriminations. Nevertheless, he had to submit to
the infliction of hearing the last words of debates which had
been going on previous to his arrival. Eusebius of Caesarea and
his two abbreviators, Socrates and Sozomen, as well as Rufinus
and Gelasius of Cyzicus, report no details of the theological
discussions. Rufinus tells us only that daily sessions were held
and that Arius was often summoned before the assembly; his
opinions were seriously discussed and the opposing arguments
attentively considered. The majority, especially those who were
confessors of the Faith, energetically declared themselves
against the impious doctrines of Arius. (For the part played by
the Eusebian third party, see EUSEBIUS OF NICOMEDIA. For the
Creed of Eusebius, see EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA.) St. Athanasius
assures us that the activities of the Council were nowise
hampered by Constantine's presence. The emperor had by this time
escaped from the influence of Eusebius of Nicomedia, and was
under that of Hosius, to whom, as well as to St. Athanasius, may
be attributed a preponderant influence in the formulation of the
symbol of the First Ecumenical Council, of which the following
is a literal translation:
We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of all things
visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only
begotten of the Father, that is, of the substance [ ek tes ousias]
of the Father, God of God, light of light, true God of true God,
begotten not made, of the same substance with the Father [
homoousion to patri], through whom all things were made both in
heaven and on earth; who for us men and our salvation descended, was
incarnate, and was made man, suffered and rose again the third day,
ascended into heaven and cometh to judge the living and the dead.
And in the Holy Ghost. Those who say: There was a time when He was
not, and He was not before He was begotten; and that He was made our
of nothing (ex ouk onton); or who maintain that He is of another
hypostasis or another substance [than the Father], or that the Son
of God is created, or mutable, or subject to change, [them] the
Catholic Church anathematizes.
The adhesion was general and enthusiastic. All the bishops save
five declared themselves ready to subscribe to this formula,
convince that it contained the ancient faith of the Apostolic
Church. The opponents were soon reduced to two, Theonas of
Marmarica and Secundus of Ptolemais, who were exiled and
anathematized. Arius and his writings were also branded with
anathema, his books were cast into the fire, and he was exiled
to Illyria. The lists of the signers have reached us in a
mutilated condition, disfigured by faults of the copyists.
Nevertheless, these lists may be regarded as authentic. Their
study is a problem which has been repeatedly dealt with in
modern times, in Germany and England, in the critical editions
of H. Gelzer, H. Hilgenfeld, and O. Contz on the one hand, and
C. H. Turner on the other. The lists thus constructed give
respectively 220 and 218 names. With information derived from
one source or another, a list of 232 or 237 fathers known to
have been present may be constructed.
Other matters dealt with by this council were the controversy as
to the time of celebrating Easter and the Meletian schism. The
former of these two will be found treated under EASTER
CONTROVERSY; the latter under MELETIUS OF LYCOPOLIS.
Of all the Acts of this Council, which, it has been maintained,
were numerous, only three fragments have reached us: the creed,
or symbol, given above (see also NICENE CREED); the canons; the
synodal decree. In reality there never were any official acts
besides these. But the accounts of Eusebius, Socrates, Sozomen,
Theodoret, and Rufinus may be considered as very important
sources of historical information, as well as some data
preserved by St. Athanasius, and a history of the Council of
Nicaea written in Greek in the fifth century by Gelasius of
Cyzicus. There has long existed a dispute as to the number of
the canons of First Nicaea. All the collections of canons,
whether in Latin or Greek, composed in the fourth and fifth
centuries agree in attributing to this Council only the twenty
canons, which we possess today. Of these the following is a
brief résumé:
+ Canon 1: On the admission, or support, or expulsion of clerics
mutilated by choice or by violence.
+ Canon 2: Rules to be observed for ordination, the avoidance of
undue haste, the deposition of those guilty of a grave fault.
+ Canon 3: All members of the clergy are forbidden to dwell with
any woman, except a mother, sister, or aunt.
+ Canon 4: Concerning episcopal elections.
+ Canon 5: Concerning the excommunicate.
+ Canon 6: Concerning patriarchs and their jurisdiction.
+ Canon 7: confirms the right of the bishops of Jerusalem to
enjoy certain honours.
+ Canon 8: concerns the Novatians.
+ Canon 9: Certain sins known after ordination involve
invalidation.
+ Canon 10: Lapsi who have been ordained knowingly or
surreptitiously must be excluded as soon as their irregularity
is known.
+ Canon 11: Penance to be imposed on apostates of the
persecution of Licinius.
+ Canon 12: Penance to be imposed on those who upheld Licinius
in his war on the Christians.
+ Canon 13: Indulgence to be granted to excommunicated persons
in danger of death.
+ Canon 14: Penance to be imposed on catechumens who had
weakened under persecution.
+ Canon 15: Bishops, priests, and deacons are not to pass from
one church to another.
+ Canon 16: All clerics are forbidden to leave their church.
Formal prohibition for bishops to ordain for their diocese a
cleric belonging to another diocese.
+ Canon 17: Clerics are forbidden to lend at interest.
+ Canon 18: recalls to deacons their subordinate position with
regard to priests.
+ Canon 19: Rules to be observed with regard to adherents of
Paul of Samosata who wished to return to the Church.
+ Canon 20: On Sundays and during the Paschal season prayers
should be said standing.
The business of the Council having been finished Constantine
celebrated the twentieth anniversary of his accession to the
empire, and invited the bishops to a splendid repast, at the end
of which each of them received rich presents. Several days later
the emperor commanded that a final session should be held, at
which he assisted in order to exhort the bishops to work for the
maintenance of peace; he commended himself to their prayers, and
authorized the fathers to return to their dioceses. The greater
number hastened to take advantage of this and to bring the
resolutions of the council to the knowledge of their provinces.
H. LECLERCQ
Second Council of Nicaea
The Second Council of Nicaea
Seventh Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church, held in 787.
(For an account of the controversies which occasioned this
council and the circumstances in which it was convoked, see
ICONOCLASM, Sections I and II.) An attempt to hold a council at
Constantinople, to deal with Iconoclasm, having been frustrated
by the violence of the Iconoclastic soldiery, the papal legates
left that city. When, however, they had reached Sicily on their
way back to Rome, they were recalled by the Empress Irene. She
replaced the mutinous troops at Constantinople with troops
commanded by officers in whom she had every confidence. This
accomplished, in May, 787, a new council was convoked at Nicaea
in Bithynia. The pope's letters to the empress and to the
patriarch (see ICONOCLASM, II) prove superabundantly that the
Holy See approved the convocation of the Council. The pope
afterwards wrote to Charlemagne: "Et sic synodum istam, secundum
nostram ordinationem, fecerunt" (Thus they have held the synod
in accordance with our directions).
The empress-regent and her son did not assist in person at the
sessions, but they were represented there by two high officials:
the patrician and former consul, Petronius, and the imperial
chamberlain and logothete John, with whom was associated as
secretary the former patriarch, Nicephorus. The acts represent
as constantly at the head of the ecclesiastical members the two
Roman legates, the archpriest Peter and the abbot Peter; after
them come Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople, and then two
Oriental monks and priests, John and Thomas, representatives of
the Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The
operations of the council show that Tarasius, properly speaking,
conducted the sessions. The monks John and Thomas professed to
represent the Oriental patriarchs, though these did not know
that the council had been convoked. However, there was no fraud
on their part: they had been sent, not by the patriarchs, but by
the monks and priests of superior rank acting sedibus impeditis,
in the stead and place of the patriarchs who were prevented from
acting for themselves. Necessity was their excuse. Moreover,
John and Thomas did not subscribe at the Council as vicars of
the patriarchs, but simply in the name of the Apostolic sees of
the Orient. With the exception of these monks and the Roman
legates, all the members of the Council were subjects of the
Byzantine Empire. Their number, bishops as well as
representatives of bishops, varies in the ancient historians
between 330 and 367; Nicephorus makes a manifest mistake in
speaking of only 150 members: the Acts of the Council which we
still possess show not fewer than 308 bishops or representatives
of bishops. To these may be added a certain number of monks,
archimandrites, imperial secretaries, and clerics of
Constantinople who had not the right to vote.
The first session opened in the church of St. Sophia, 24
September, 787. Tarasius opened the council with a short
discourse: "Last year, in the beginning of the month of August,
it was desired to hold, under my presidency, a council in the
Church of the Apostles at Constantinople; but through the fault
of several bishops whom it would be easy to count, and whose
names I prefer not to mention, since everybody knows them, that
council was made impossible. The sovereigns have deigned to
convoke another at Nicaea, and Christ will certainly reward them
for it. It is this Lord and Saviour whom the bishops must also
invoke in order to pronounce subsequently an equitable judgment
in a just and impartial manner." The members then proceeded to
the reading of various official documents, after which three
Iconoclastic bishops who had retracted were permitted to take
their seats. Seven others who had plotted to make the Council
miscarry in the preceding year presented themselves and declared
themselves ready to profess the Faith of the Fathers, but the
assembly thereupon engaged in a long discussion concerning the
admission of heretics and postponed their case to another
session. On 26 September, the second session was held, during
which the pope's letters to the empress and the Patriarch
Tarasius were read. Tarasius declared himself in full agreement
with the doctrine set forth in these letters. On 28, or 29,
September, in the third session, some bishops who had retracted
their errors were allowed to take their seats, after which
various documents were read. The fourth session was held on 1
October. In it the secretaries of the council read a long series
of citations from the Bible and the Fathers in favour of the
veneration of images. Afterwards the dogmatic decree was
presented, and was signed by all the members present, by the
archimandrites of the monasteries, and by some monks; the papal
legates added a declaration to the effect that they were ready
to receive all who had abandoned the Iconoclastic heresy. In the
fifth session on 4 October, passages form the Fathers were read
which declared, or seemed to declare, against the worship of
images, but the reading was not continued to the end, and the
council decided in favour of the restoration and veneration of
images. On 6 October, in the sixth session, the doctrines of the
conciliabulum of 753 were refuted. The discussion was endless,
but in the course of it several noteworthy things were said. The
next session, that of 13 October, was especially important; at
it was read the horos, or dogmatic decision, of the council [see
VENERATION OF IMAGES (6)]. The last (eighth) was held in the
Magnaura Palace, at Constantinople, in presence of the empress
and her son, on 23 October. It was spent in discourses, signing
of names, and acclamations.
The council promulgated twenty-two canons relating to points of
discipline, which may be summarized as follows:
+ Canon 1: The clergy must observe "the holy canons," which
include the Apostolic, those of the six previous Ecumenical
Councils, those of the particular synods which have been
published at other synods, and those of the Fathers.
+ Canon 2: Candidates for a bishop's orders must know the
Psalter by heart and must have read thoroughly, not cursorily,
all the sacred Scriptures.
+ Canon 3 condemns the appointment of bishops, priests, and
deacons by secular princes.
+ Canon 4: Bishops are not to demand money of their clergy: any
bishop who through covetousness deprives one of his clergy is
himself deposed.
+ Canon 5 is directed against those who boast of having obtained
church preferment with money, and recalls the Thirtieth
Apostolic Canon and the canons of Chalcedon against those who
buy preferment with money.
+ Canon 6: Provincial synods are to be held annually.
+ Canon 7: Relics are to be placed in all churches: no church is
to be consecrated without relics.
+ Canon 8 prescribes precautions to be taken against feigned
converts from Judaism.
+ Canon 9: All writings against the venerable images are to be
surrendered, to be shut up with other heretical books.
+ Canon 10: Against clerics who leave their own dioceses without
permission, and become private chaplains to great personages.
+ Canon 11: Every church and every monastery must have its own
oeconomus.
+ Canon 12: Against bishops or abbots who convey church property
to temporal lords.
+ Canon 13: Episcopal residences, monasteries and other
ecclesiastical buildings converted to profane uses are to be
restored their rightful ownership.
+ Canon 14: Tonsured persons not ordained lectors must not read
the Epistle or Gospel in the ambo.
+ Canon 15: Against pluralities of benefices.
+ Canon 16: The clergy must not wear sumptuous apparel.
+ Canon 17: Monks are not to leave their monasteries and begin
building other houses of prayer without being provided with
the means to finish the same.
+ Canon 18: Women are not to dwell in bishops' houses or in
monasteries of men.
+ Canon 19: Superiors of churches and monasteries are not to
demand money of those who enter the clerical or monastic
state. But the dowry brought by a novice to a religious house
is to be retained by that house if the novice leaves it
without any fault on the part of the superior.
+ Canon 20 prohibits double monasteries.
+ Canon 21: A monk or nun may not leave one convent for another.
+ Canon 22: Among the laity, persons of opposite sexes may eat
together, provided they give thanks and behave with decorum.
But among religious persons, those of opposite sexes may eat
together only in the presence of several God-fearing men and
women, except on a journey when necessity compels.
H. LECLERCQ
Nicaragua, Republic and Diocese of
Republic and Diocese of Nicaragua
(DE NICARAGUA)
The diocese, suffragan of Guatemala, is coextensive with the
Central American Republic of Nicaragua. This republic (see
CHILE, MAP OF SOUTH AMERICA), lying between Honduras and Costa
Rica, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, has an area of
49,200 square miles and a population of about 600,000
inhabitants. The great mass of the inhabitants are either
aborigines, or negroes, or of mixed blood, those of pure
European descent not exceeding 1500 in number. The legislative
authority is vested in a single chamber of thirty-six members,
elected for six years; the executive, in a president, whose term
of office is also six years, exercising his functions through a
cabinet of nine responsible ministers. The country is traversed
by a deep depression, running parallel to the Pacific coast,
within which are a chain of volcanoes (among them, Monotombo,
7000 feet) and the great lakes, Managua and Nicaragua (or
Cocibolga). From the latter (a body of water 92 miles long and,
at its widest, 40 miles wide) the country takes its name,
derived from Nicarao, the name of the aboriginal chief who held
sway in the regions round about Lake Cocibolga when the
Spaniards, under Dávila, first explored the country, in 1522.
From that time, or soon after, until 1822 Nicaragua was a
Spanish possession, forming part of the Province of Guatemala.
From 1822 until 1839 it was one of the five states constituting
the Central American Federation; from 1840 until the present
time (1911) it has been an independent republic, with its
capital at Managua (pop., about 35,000). The aborigines of the
Mosquito Coast, a swampy tract extending along the Nicaraguan
shores of the Caribbean, were nominally under British protection
until 1860, when, by the Treaty of Managua, this protectorate
was ceded by Great Britain to the republic; in 1905, another
treaty recognized the absolute sovereignty of Nicaragua over
what had been, until then, known as the Mosquito Reservation.
Since the time of its acquiring political independence,
Nicaragua has been in almost continuous turmoil. Commercially,
the country is very poorly developed; its chief exports are
coffee, cattle, and mahogany; a certain amount of gold has been
mined of recent years, and the nascent rubber industry is
regarded as promising.
The Diocese of Nicaragua was canonically erected in 1534
(according to other authorities, 1531), with Diego Alvarez for
its first bishop. It appears to have been at first a suffragan
of Mexico, though some authorities have assigned it to the
ecclesiastical Province of Lima, but in the eighteenth century
Benedict XIV made it a suffragan of Guatemala. The episcopal
residence is at Léon, where there is a fine cathedral. A
concordat between the Holy See and the Republic of Nicaragua was
concluded in 1861, and the Catholic is still recognized as the
state religion, though Church and State are now separated, and
freedom is constitutionally guaranteed to all forms of religious
worship. After 1894 the Zelaya Government entered upon a course
of anti-Catholic legislation which provoked a protest from
Bishop Francisco Ulloa y Larrios, and the bishop was banished to
Panama. Upon the death of this prelate, in 1908, his coadjutor
bishop, Simeone Pereira, succeeded him. The returns for 1910
give the Diocese of Nicaragua 42 parishes, with 45 priests, a
seminary, 2 colleges, and 2 hospitals.
GAMEZ, Archivo Histórico de la Republica de Nicaragua (Managua,
1896); SQUIER, Nicaragua (London, 1852); BELT, The Naturalist in
Nicaragua (London, 1873); The Statesman's Year Book (London,
1910).
E. MACPHERSON.
Nicastro
Nicastro
(NEOCASTRENSIS).
A city of the Province of Catanzaro, in Calabria, southern
Italy, situated on a promontory that commands the Gulf of St.
Euphemia; above it is an ancient castle. The commerce of the
port of Nicastro consists of the exportation of acid, herbs, and
wine. The cathedral, an ancient temple, with the episcopal
palace, was outside the city; having been pillaged by the
Saracens, it was restored in the year 1100, but it was destroyed
in the earthquake of 1638, with the episcopal palace, under the
ruins of which most valuable archives were lost. For a long
time, the Greek Rite was in use at Nicastro. The first bishop of
this city of whom there is any record was Henry (1090); Bishop
Tancredo da Monte Foscolo (1279) was deposed by Honorius IV for
having consecrated John of Aragon, King of Sicily, but he was
reinstated by Boniface VIII; Bishop Paolo Capisucco (1533) was
one of the judges in the case of the marriage of Henry VIII of
England; Marcello Cervino (1539) became Pope Marcellus II;
Giovanni Tommaso Perrone (1639) built the new cathedral. In 1818
the ancient See of Martorano, the former Mamertum (the first
bishop of which was Domnus, in 761), was united to the Diocese
of Nicastro. The diocese is a suffragan of Reggio in Calabria;
it has 52 parishes, with 110,100 inhabitants; 71 churches and
chapels, 2 convents of the Capuchins, and one orphan asylum and
boarding-school, directed by the Sisters of Charity.
CAPPELLETTI, Le Chiese d'Italia, XXI (Venice, 1870), 200.
U. BENIGNI
Niccola Pisano
Niccola Pisano
Architect and sculptor, b. at Pisa about 1205-07; d. there,
1278. He was the father of modern plastic art. When barely past
adolescence, he came to the notice of Frederick II of Swabia who
took him to attend his coronation in Rome, thence to Naples, to
complete Castel Capuano and Castel dell'Uovo (1221-31). In 1233
Niccola was in Lucca; the alto-rilievo of the Deposition over
the side door of the cathedral may be of this date. The marble
urn or Arca made to contain the body of St. Dominic in the
church bearing his name in Bologna, is said to be an early work,
but shows maturity; the charming group of the Madonna and Child
upon it, foreshadows all the Madonnas of Italian art. From
Niccola's designs was built the famous basilica of St. Anthony
in Padua, the church of the Frari in Venice is also attributed
to him, possibly on insufficient grounds. In Florence he
designed the interior of Sta. Trinità which Michelangelo loved
so much that he called it his lady, "la mia Dama". Having been
ordered by the Ghibellines to destroy the baptistery frequented
by the Guelphs, Niccola undermined the tower called
Guardo-morto, causing it to so fall that it did not touch the
precious edifice. On his return to Pisa, the architect erected
the campanile for the church of S. Niccolò which contains the
remarkable winding stair unsupported at its centre; an invention
repeated by Bramante for the "Belvedere", and by San Gallo in
the renowned well at Orvieto. In 1242 Niccola superintended the
building of the cathedral of Pistoja, and in 1263 the
restoration of S. Pietro Maggiore. He remodelled S. Domenico at
Arezzo, the Duomo at Volterra, the Pieve and Sta. Margherita at
Cortona. Much of his work at Pisa is believed to have perished
in the fire of 1610. A wonderful creation (1260) is the
hexagonal, insulated pulpit of the baptistery. It is supported
by seven columns, three of them resting on lions. The panels
have reliefs from the New Testament; the pediments, figures of
virtues; the spandrels, prophets and evangelists. The
architectural part is Italian Gothic: the sculptures are mainly
pure reproductions of the antique. A second pulpit for the Duomo
of Siena followed in 1266. Niccola's early sculpture shows
clumsiness, if we are to believe that the figures outside the
Misericordia Vecchia in Florence are his. In later life, whether
from Rome or from his own Camposanto at Pisa (Roman sarcophagus
used for the Countess Beatrice of Tuscany; Greek vase with
figures he reproduced) he learned to create with the freedom,
beauty, and power of ancient art. Ruhmer suggests aptly that he
may have used clay for his initial model, a method then
unpractised in Italy. One of Niccola's last works in
architecture was the abbey and church of La Scorgola,
commemorating Charles of Anjou's victory at Tagliacozzo, now in
ruins; in sculpture, the statuettes for the famous Fonte
Maggiore at Perugia, erected after his design (1277-80).
CICOGNARA, Storia della scultura (Venice, 1813); PERKINS, Tuscan
sculptors (London, 1864); LÜBKE, History of sculpture, tr.
BURNETT (London, 1862-72).
M.L. HANDLEY
Diocese of Nice
Diocese of Nice
(NICIENSIS)
Nice comprises the Department of Alpes-Maritimes. It was
re-established by the Concordat of 1801 as suffragan of Aix. The
Countship of Nice from 1818 to 1860 was part of the Sardinian
States, and the see became a suffragan of Genoa. When Nice was
annexed to France in 1860, certain parts which remained Italian
were cut off from it and added to the Diocese of Vintimille. In
1862 the diocese was again a suffragan of Aix. The
arrondissement of Grasse was separated from the Diocese of
Fréjus in 1886, and given to Nice which now unites the three
former Dioceses of Nice, Grasse, and Vence.
I. DIOCESE OF NICE
Traditions tell us that Nice was evangelized by St. Barnabas,
sent by St. Paul, or else by St. Mary Magdalen, St. Martha, and
St. Lazarus; and they make St. Bassus, a martyr under Decius,
the first Bishop of Nice. The See of Nice in Gaul existed in
314, since the bishop sent delegates to the Council of Arles in
that year. The first bishop historically known is Amantius who
attended the Council of Aquileia in 381. Cimiez, near Nice,
where still can be seen the remains of a Roman amphitheatre, and
which was made illustrious by the martyrdom of the youthful St.
Pontius about 260 had also a see, held in the middle of the
fifth century by St. Valerianus; a rescript of St. Leo the
Great, issued after 450 and confirmed by St. Hilarus in 465,
united the Sees of Nice and Cimiez. This newly-formed see
remained a suffragan of Embrun up to the time of the Revolution
(see GAP, DIOCESE OF). Mgr Duchesne has not discovered
sufficient historical proof of the episcopate at Nice of St.
Valerianus (433-43), of St. Deutherius (490-93), martyred by the
Vandals, of St. Syagrius (died 787), Count of Brignoles and
son-in-law perhaps of Charlemagne. St. Anselm, a former monk of
Lérins, is mentioned as Bishop of Nice (1100-07). Bishops of
Nice bore the title of Counts of Drap since the donation of
property situated at Drap, made in 1073 by Pierre, Bishop of
Vaison, a native of Nice, to Raymond I, its bishop, and to his
successors. Charlemagne, when visiting Cimiez devastated by the
Lombards in 574, caused St. Syagrius to build on its ruins the
monastery of St. Pontius, the largest Alpine abbey of the Middle
Ages.
II. DIOCESE OF GRASSE
The first known Bishop of Antibes is Armentarius who attended
the Council of Vaison in 442; Mgr Duchesne admits as possible
that the Remigius, who signed at the Council of Nîmes in 396 and
in 417 received a letter from Pope Zosimus, may have been Bishop
of Antibes before Armentarius. About the middle of the
thirteenth century the See of Antibes was transferred to Grasse.
Bishops of Grasse worthy of mention are: Cardinal Agostino
Trivulzio (1537-1648); the poet Antoine Godeau (1636-53), one of
the most celebrated habitués of the Hôtel de Rambouillet, where
he was nicknamed "Julia's dwarf" on account of his small
stature.
III. DIOCESE OF VENCE
The first known Bishop of Vence is Severus, bishop in 439 and
perhaps as early as 419. Among others are: St. Veranus, son of
St. Eucherius, Archbishop of Lyons and a monk of Lérins, bishop
before 451 and at least until 465; St. Lambert, first a
Benedictine monk (died 1154); Cardinal Alessandro Farnese
(1505-11). Antoine Godeau, Bishop of Grasse, was named Bishop of
Vence in 1638; the Holy See wished to unite the two dioceses.
Meeting with opposition from the chapter and the clergy of Vence
Godeau left Grasse in 1653, to remain Bishop of Vence, which see
he held until 1672.
The following saints are specially honoured in the Diocese of
Nice: The youthful martyr St. Celsus, whom certain traditions
make victim of Nero's persecution; St. Vincentius and St.
Orontius, natives of Cimiez, apostles of Aquitaine and of Spain,
martyrs under Diocletian; St. Hospitius, a hermit of Cap Ferrat
(died about 581); Blessed Antoine Gallus (1300-92), a native of
Nice, one of St. Catherine of Siena's confessors. The martyr St.
Reparata of Cæsarea in Palestine is the patroness of the
diocese. The chief pilgrimages of the diocese are: Our Lady of
Laghet, near Monaco, a place of pilgrimage since the end of the
seventeenth century; the chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at
Roquefort near Grasse; Our Lady of Valcluse; Our Lady of Brusq;
Our Lady of Vie. Prior to the application of the law of 1901
against associations, the diocese counted Assumptionists,
Capuchins, Cistercians of the Immaculate Conception, Jesuits,
Priests of the Christian Doctrine, Franciscans, Lazarists,
Discalced Carmelites, Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Salesians of
Dom Bosco, Camillians, several orders of teaching Brothers. The
Sisters of St. Martha, devoted to teaching and nursing and
founded in 1832, have their mother-house at Grasse. At the
beginning of the twentieth century religious congregations of
the diocese conducted 4 crèches, 16 day nurseries, 2
institutions for crippled children, 1 boys' orphanage, 10 girls'
orphanages, 3 sewing rooms, 11 hospitals or asylums, 4
convalescent homes, 6 houses for the care of the sick in their
own homes, 1 insane asylum, 1 asylum for incurables. The Diocese
of Nice, whither every year the warm and balmy climate of the
Côte d'Azur attracts innumerable foreigners, counted in 1909
about 260,000 inhabitants, 32 parishes and 185 succursal
parishes.
Gallia Christiana (nova, 1725), III, 1160-87, 1212-33, 1267-96,
and Instrumenta, 189-200, 212-52; DUCHESNE, Fastes Episcopaux,
I, 99, 279, 285-8; TISSERAND, Chronique de Provence: hist. civ.
et relig. de la cité de Nice et du département des
Alpes-Maritimes (2 vols., Nice, 1862); ALBIN DE CIGALA, Nice
chrét., guide hist. et artist. des paroisses (Paris, 1900); CAIS
DE PIERLAS AND SAIGE, Chartrier de l'abbaye de Saint-Pons hors
les murs de Nice (Monaco, 1903); CAIS DE PIERLAS, Cartulaire de
l'ancienne cathédrale de Nice (Turin, 1888); CHAPON. Statuts
synodaux (Nice, 1906); TISSERAND, Hist. de Vence, cité, évêché,
baronnie (Paris, 1860).
GEORGES GOYAU.
Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed
As approved in amplified form at the Council of Constantinople
(381), it is the profession of the Christian Faith common to the
Catholic Church, to all the Eastern Churches separated from
Rome, and to most of the Protestant denominations. Soon after
the Council of Nicaea new formulas of faith were composed, most
of them variations of the Nicene Symbol, to meet new phases of
Arianism. There were at least four before the Council of Sardica
in 341, and in that council a new form was presented and
inserted in the Acts, though not accepted by the council. The
Nicene Symbol, however, continued to be the only one in use
among the defenders of the Faith. Gradually it came to be
recognized as the proper profession of faith for candidates for
baptism. Its alteration into the Nicene-Constantinopolitan
formula, the one now in use, in usually ascribed to the Council
of Constantinople, since the Council of Chalcedon (451), which
designated this symbol as "The Creed of the Council of
Constantinople of 381" had it twice read and inserted in its
Acts. The historians Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret do not
mention this, although they do record that the bishops who
remained at the council after the departure of the Macedonians
confirmed the Nicene faith. Hefele (II,9) admits the possibility
of our present creed being a condensation of the "Tome" (Gr.
tomos), i.e. the exposition of the doctrines concerning the
Trinity made by the Council of Constantinople; but he prefers
the opinion of Rémi Ceillier and Tillemont tracing the new
formula to the "Ancoratus" of Epiphanius written in 374. Hort,
Caspari, Harnack, and others are of the opinion that the
Constantinopolitan form did not originate at the Council of
Constantinople, because it is not in the Acts of the council of
381, but was inserted there at a later date; because Gregory
Nazianzen who was at the council mentions only the Nicene
formula adverting to its incompleteness about the Holy Ghost,
showing that he did not know of the Constantinopolitan form
which supplies this deficiency; and because the Latin Fathers
apparently know nothing of it before the middle of the fifth
century.
The following is a literal translation of the Greek text of the
Constantinopolitan form, the brackets indicating the words
altered or added in the Western liturgical form in present use:
We believe (I believe) in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of
heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in
one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and born of the
Father before all ages. (God of God) light of light, true God of
true God. Begotten not made, consubstantial to the Father, by whom
all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down
from heaven. And was incarnate of the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin
Mary and was made man; was crucified also for us under Pontius
Pilate, suffered and was buried; and the third day rose again
according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, sits at the
right hand of the Father, and shall come again with glory to judge
the living and the dead, of whose Kingdom there shall be no end. And
(I believe) in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who
proceeds from the Father (and the Son), who together with the Father
and the Son is to be adored and glorified, who spoke by the
Prophets. And one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We confess
(I confess) one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for
(I look for) the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world
to come. Amen."
In this form the Nicene article concerning the Holy Ghost is
enlarged; several words, notably the two clauses "of the
substance of the Father" and "God of God," are omitted as also
are the anathemas; ten clauses are added; and in five places the
words are differently located. In general the two forms contain
what is common to all the baptismal formulas in the early
Church. Vossius (1577-1649) was the first to detect the
similarity between the creed set forth in the "Ancoratus" and
the baptismal formula of the Church at Jerusalem. Hort (1876)
held that the symbol is a revision of the Jerusalem formula, in
which the most important Nicene statements concerning the Holy
Ghost have been inserted. The author of the revision may have
been St. Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386, q.v.). Various hypotheses
are offered to account for the tradition that the
Niceno-Constantinopolitan symbol originated with the Council of
Constantinople, but none of them is satisfactory. Whatever be
its origin, the fact is that the Council of Chalcedon (451)
attributed it to the Council of Constantinople, and if it was
not actually composed in that council, it was adopted and
authorized by the Fathers assembled as a true expression of the
Faith. The history of the creed is completed in the article
Filioque. (See also: ARIUS; EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA)
J. WILHELM
St. Nicephorus
St. Nicephorus
Patriarch of Constantinople, 806-815, b. about 758; d. 2 June,
829. This champion of the orthodox view in the second contest
over the veneration of images belonged to a noted family of
Constantinople. He was the son of the imperial secretary
Theodore and his pious wife Eudoxia. Eudoxia was a strict
adherent of the Church and Theodore had been banished by the
Emperor Constantine Copronymus (741-75) on account of his
steadfast support of the teaching of the Church concerning
images. While still young Nicephorus was brought to the court,
where he became an imperial secretary. With two other officials
of high rank he represented the Empress Irene in 787 at the
Second Council of Nicaea (the Seventh Ecumenical Council), which
declared the doctrine of the Church respecting images. Shortly
after this Nicephorus sought solitude on the Thracian Bosporus,
where he had founded a monastery. There he devoted himself to
ascetic practices and to the study both of secular learning, as
grammar, mathematics, and philosophy, and the Scriptures. Later
he was recalled to the capital and given charge of the great
hospital. Upon the death of Patriarch Tarasius (25 February,
806), there was great division among the clergy and higher court
officials as to the choice of his February, 806); there was
great division among the clergy and higher court officials as to
the choice of his successor. Finally, with the assent of the
bishops Emperor Nicephorus (802-11) appointed Nicephorus as
patriarch. Although still a layman, he was known by all to be
very religious and highly educated. He received Holy Orders and
was consecrated bishop on Easter Sunday, 12 April 806. The
direct elevation of a Iayman to the patriarchate, as had already
happened in the case of Tarasius, aroused opposition in the
ecclesiastical party among the clergy and monks. The leaders
were the abbots, Plato of Saccadium and Theodore of Studium, and
Theodore's brother, Archbishop Joseph of Thessalonica. For this
opposition the Abbot Plato was imprisoned for twenty-four days
at the command of the emperor.
Nicephorus soon gave further cause for antagonism. In 795 a
priest named Joseph had celebrated the unlawful marriage of
Emperor Constantine VI (780-97) with Theodota, during the
lifetime of Maria, the rightful wife of the emperor, whom he had
set aside. For this act Joseph had been deposed and banished.
Emperor Nicephorus considered it important to have this matter
settled and, at his wish the new patriarch with the concurrence
of a synod composed of a small number of bishops, pardoned
Joseph and, in 806, restored him to his office. The patriarch
yielded to the wishes of the emperor in order to avert more
serious evil. His action was regarded by the strict church party
as a violation of ecclesiastical law and a scandal. Before the
matter was settled Theodore had written to the patriarch
entreating him not to reinstate the guilty priest, but had
received no answer. Although the matter was not openly
discussed, he and his followers now held virtually no church
communion with Nicephorus and the priest, Joseph. But, through a
letter written by Archbishop Joseph, the course which he and the
strict church party followed became public in 808, and caused a
sensation. Theodore set forth, by speech and writing, the
reasons for the action of the strict party and firmly maintained
his position. Defending himself against the accusation that he
and his companions were schismatic, he declared that he had kept
silent as long as possible, had censured no bishops, and had
always included the name of the patriarch in the liturgy. He
asserted his love and his attachment to the patriarch, and said
he would withdraw all opposition if the patriarch would
acknowledge the violation of law by removing the priest Joseph.
Emperor Nicephorus now took violent measures. He commanded the
patriarch to call a synod, which was held in 809, and had Plato
and several monks forcibly brought before it. The opponents of
the patriarch were condemned, the Archbishop of Thessalonica was
deposed, the Abbots Plato and Theodore with their monks were
banished to neighbouring islands and cast into various prisons.
This, however, did not discourage the resolute opponents of the
"Adulterine Heresy". In 809 Theodore and Plato sent a joint
memorial, through the Archmandrite Epiphanius, to Pope Leo III,
and later, Theodore laid the matter once more before the pope in
a letter, in which he besought the successor of St. Peter to
grant a helping hand to the East, so that it might not be
overwhelmed by the waves of the "Adulterine Heresy". Pope Leo
sent an encouraging and consolatory reply to the resolute
confessors, upon which they wrote another letter to him through
Epiphanius. Leo had received no communication from Patriarch
Nicephorus and was, therefore, not thoroughly informed in the
matter; he also desired to spare the eastern emperor as much as
possible. Consequently, for a time, he took no further steps in
the matter. Emperor Nicephorus continued to persecute all
adherents of Theodore of Studium, and, in addition, oppressed
those of whom he had grown suspicious, whether clergy or
dignitaries of the empire. Moreover, he favoured the heretical
Paulicians and the Iconoclasts and drained the people by
oppressive taxes, so that he was universally hated. In July,
811, the emperor was killed in a battle with the Bulgarians. His
son Stauracius, who had been wounded in the same fight, was
proclaimed emperor, but was deposed by the chief men of the
empire because he followed the bad example of his father. On 2
October, 811, with the assent of the patriarch, Michael
Rhangabe, brother-in-law of Stauracius, who raised to the
throne. The new emperor promised, in writing, to defend the
faith and to protect both clergy and monks, and was crowned with
much solemnity by the Patriarch Nicephorus. Michael succeeded in
reconciling the patriarch and Theodore of Studium. The patriarch
again deposed the priest Joseph and withdrew his decrees against
Theodore and his partisans. On the other side Theodore, Plato,
and the majority of their adherents recognized the patriarch as
the lawful head of the Byzantine Church, and sought to bring the
refractory back to his obedience. The emperor had also recourse
to the papacy in reference to these quarrels and had received a
letter of approval from Leo. Moreover, the patriarch now sent
the customary written notification of his induction into office
(Synodica) to the pope. In it he sought to excuse the long delay
by the tyranny of the preceding emperor, interwove a rambling
confession of faith and promised to notify Rome at the proper
time in regard to all important questions.
Emperor Michael was an honourable man of good intentions, but
weak and dependent. On the advice of Nicephorus he put the
heretical and seditious Paulicians to death and tried to
suppress the Iconoclasts. The patriarch endeavoured to establish
monastic discipline among the monks, and to suppress double
monasteries which had been forbidden by the Seventh Ecumenical
Council. After his complete defeat, 22 June, 813, in the war
against the Bulgarians, the emperor lost all authority. With the
assent of the patriarch he resigned and entered a monastery with
his children. The popular general, Leo the Armenian, now became
emperor, 11 July, 813. When Nicephorus demanded the confession
of faith, before the coronation, Leo put it off. Notwithstanding
this, Nicephorus crowned him, and later, Leo again refused to
make the confession. As soon as the new emperor had assured the
peace of the empire by the overthrow of the Bulgarians his true
opinions began gradually to appear. He entered into connection
with the opponents of images, among whom were a number of
bishops; it steadily grew more evident that he was preparing a
new attack upon the veneration of images. With fearless energy
the Patriarch Nicephorus now proceeded against the machinations
of the Iconoclasts. He brought to trial before a synod several
ecclesiastics opposed to images and forced an abbot named John
and also Bishop Anthony of Sylaeum to submit. Bishop Anthony's
acquiescence was merely feigned.
In December, 814, Nicephorus had a long conference with the
emperor on the veneration of images but no agreement was
reached. Later the patriarch sent several learned bishops and
abbots to convince him of the truth of the position of the
Patriarch on the veneration of images. The emperor wished to
have a debate between representatives of the opposite dogmatic
opinions, but the adherents of the veneration of images refused
to take part in such a conference, as the Seventh Ecumenical
Council had settled the question. Then Nicephorus called
together an assembly of bishops and abbots at the Church of St.
Sophia at which he excommunicated the perjured Bishop Anthony of
Sylaeum. A large number of the laity were also present on this
occasion and the patriarch with the clergy and people remained
in the church the entire night in prayer. The emperor then
summoned Nicephorus to him, and the patriarch went to the
imperial palace accompanied by the abbots and monks. Nicephorus
first had a long, private conversation with the emperor, in
which he vainly endeavoured to dissuade Leo from his opposition
to the veneration of images. The emperor received those who had
accompanied Nicephorus, among them seven metropolitans and Abbot
Theodore of Studium. They all repudiated the interference of the
emperor in dogmatic questions and once more rejected Leo's
proposal to hold a conference. The emperor then commanded the
abbots to maintain silence upon the matter and forbade them to
hold meetings. Theodore declared that silence under these
conditions would be treason and expressed sympathy with the
patriarch whom the emperor forbade to hold public service in the
church. Nicephorus fell ill; when he recovered the emperor
called upon him to defend his course before a synod of bishops
friendly to iconoclasm. But the patriarch would not recognize
the synod and paid no attention to the summons. The pseudo-synod
now commanded that he should no longer be called patriarch. His
house was surrounded by crowds of angry Iconoclasts who shouted
threats and invectives. He was guarded by soldiers and not
allowed to perform any official act. With a protest against this
mode of procedure the patriarch notified Leo that he found it
necessary to resign the patriarchal see. Upon this he was
arrested at midnight in March, 815, and banished to the
monastery of St. Theodore, which he had built on the Bosporus.
Leo now raised to the patriarchate Theodotus, a married,
illiterate layman who favoured iconoclasm. Theodotus was
consecrated 1 April, 815. The exiled Nicephorus persevered in
his opposition and wrote several treatises against iconoclasm.
After the murder of the Emperor Leo, 25 December, 820, Michael
the Amorian ascended the throne and the defenders of the
veneration of images were now more considerately treated.
However, Michael would not consent to an actual restoration of
images such as Nicephorus demanded from him, for he declared
that he did not wish to interfere in religious matters and would
leave everything as he had found it. Accordingly Emperor Leo's
hostile measures were not repealed, although the persecution
ceased. Nicephorus received permission to return from exile if
he would promise to remain silent. He would not agree, however,
and remained in the monastery of St. Theodore, where he
continued by speech and writing to defend the veneration of
images. The dogmatic treatises, chiefly on this subject, that he
wrote are as follows: a lesser "Apology for the Catholic Church
concerning the newly arisen Schism in regard to Sacred Images"
(Migne, P.G., C, 833-849), written 813-14; a larger treatise in
two parts; the first part is an "Apology for the pure,
unadulterated Faith of Christians against those who accuse us of
idolatry" (Migne, loc. cit., 535-834); the second part contains
the "Antirrhetici", a refutation of a writing by the Emperor
Constantine Copronymus on images (loc. cit., 205-534).
Nicephorus added to this second part seventy-five extracts from
the writings of the Fathers [edited by Pitra, "Spicilegium
Solesmense", I (Paris, 1852), 227-370]; in two further writings,
which also apparently belong together, passages from earlier
writers, that had been used by the enemies of images to maintain
their opinions, are examined and explained. Both these treatises
were edited by Pitra; the first Epikrisis in "Spicilegium
Solesmense", I, 302-335; the second Antirresis in the same, I,
371-503, and IV, 292-380. The two treatises discuss passages
from Macarius Magnes, Eusebius of Caesarea, and from a writing
wrongly ascribed to Epiphanius of Cyprus. Another work
justifying the veneration of images was edited by Pitra under
the title "Antirrheticus adversus iconomachos" (Spicil. Solesm.,
IV, 233-91). A final and, as it appears, especially important
treatise on this question has not yet been published. Nicephorus
also left two small historical works; one known as the
Breviarium", the other the "Chronographis", both are edited by
C. de Boor, "Nicephori archiep. Const. opuscula historica" in
the "Bibliotheca Teubneriana" (Leipzig, 1880). At the end of his
life he was revered and after death regarded as a saint. In 874
his bones were translated to Constantinople with much pomp by
the Patriarch Methodius and interred, 13 March, in the Church of
the Apostles. His feast is celebrated on this day both in the
Greek and Roman Churches; the Greeks also observe 2 June as the
day of his death.
J.P. KIRSCH
Jean-Pierre Niceron
Jean-Pierre Nicéron
A French lexicographer, born in Paris, 11 March, 1685, died
there, 8 July, 1738. After his studies at the Collège Mazarin,
he joined the Barnabites (August, 1702). He taught rhetoric in
the college of Loches, and soon after at Montargis, where he
remained ten years. While engaged in teaching, he made a
thorough study of modern languages. In 1716 he went to Paris and
devoted his time to literary work. His aim was to put together,
in a logically arranged compendium, a series of biographical and
bibliographical articles on the men who had distinguished
themselves in literature and sciences since the time of the
Renaissance. It required long research as well as great
industry. After eleven years he published the first volume of
his monumental work under the title of "Mémoires pour servir à
l'histoire des hommes illustres de la république des lettres
avec le catalogue raisonné de leurs ouvrages" (Paris, 1727).
Thirty-eight volumes followed from 1728 to 1738. The last volume
from his pen was published two years after the author's death
(Paris, 1740). Father Oudin, J.-B. Michauld, and Abbé Goujet
later contributed three volumes to the collection. A German
translation of it was published in 1747-1777. It has been often
repeated that this work lacks method, ana that the length of
many articles is out of proportion to the value of the men to
whom they are devoted. This criticism, however true it may be,
does not impair the genuine qualities and importance of the
whole work. Even now, these "Mémoires" contain a great amount of
information that could hardly be obtained elsewhere. Moreover,
they refer to sources which, but for our author, would be easily
overlooked or ignored. Besides this original composition, he
translated various books from English, among which should be
mentioned: "Le voyage de Jean Ovington à Surate et en divers
autres lieux de l'Asie et de l'Afrique, avec l'histoire de la
révolution arrivée dans le royaume de Golconde" (Paris, 1725);
"La Conversion de l'Angleterre au Christianisme comparée avec sa
prétendue réformation" (Paris, 1729).
D'ARTIGNY, Mémoires d'histoire et de littérature, I (Paris,
1749); GOUJET, Eloge de J. P. Nicéron in vol. XL of Mémoires
(Paris, 1840); CHAUFFEPLÉ, Dict. historique et critique
(Amsterdam, 1850-56).
LOUIS N. DELAMARRE.
Nicetas
Nicetas
(NICETA)
A Bishop of Remesiana (Romatiana) in what is now Servia, born
about 335; died about 414. Recent investigations have resulted
in a more definite knowledge of the person of this
ecclesiastical writer. Gennadius of Marseilles, in his catalogue
of writers ("De viris illustribus", xxii) mentions a "Niceas
Romatianæ civitatis episcopus" to whom he ascribes two works:
one, in six books, for catechumens, and a little book on a
virgin who had fallen. Outside of this reference no writer and
bishop of the name of Niceas is known. This Niceas, therefore,
is, without doubt, the same as Nicetas, " Bishop of the
Dacians", the contemporary and friend of St. Paulinus of Nola.
The identity is shown by a comparison of Gennadius (loc. cit.)
with Paulinus in his "Carmina" (xvii, xxvii), and, further, by
the agreement in time. In Dacia, where, according to Paulinus,
his friend Nicetas was bishop, there was a city called Romatiana
(now Bela Palanka) on the great Roman military road from
Belgrade to Constantinople, and this was the see of Nicetas. He
is mentioned a number of times in the letters and poems of St.
Paulinus of Nola, especially in Carmen xxvii (ed. Hartel in
"Corp. Script. eccl. lat.", XXX, 262 sqq.), and in Carmen xvii
"Ad Nicetam redeuntem in Daciam" (op. cit., 81 sqq.), written on
the occasion of Nicetas's pilgrimage to Nola, in 398, to visit
the grave of St. Felix. In this latter poem Paulinus describes
how his friend, journeying home, is greeted everywhere with joy,
because in his apostolic labours in the cold regions of the
North, he has melted the icy hearts of men by the warmth of the
Divine doctrine. He has laid the yoke of Christ upon races who
never bowed the neck in battle. Like the Goths and Dacians, the
Scythians are tamed; he teaches them to glorify Christ and to
lead a pure, peaceable life. Paulinus wishes his departing
friend a safe journey by land and by water. St. Jerome, too,
speaks of the apostolic labours of Nicetas and says of him that
he spread Christian civilization among the barbarians by his
sweet songs of the Cross (Ep. lx, P. L., XXII, 592).
This is all that is known concerning the life of Nicetas.
Particulars concerning his literary activity are also given by
Gennadius and Paulinus. The tradition concerning his writings
afterwards became confused: his works were erroneously ascribed
to Bishop Nicetas of Aquileia (second half of the fifth century)
and to Nicetius of Trier. It was not until the researches of Dom
Morin, Burn, and others that a larger knowledge was attained
concerning the works of Nicetas. Gennadius (loc. cit.) mentions
six books written by him in simple and clear style (simplici et
nitido sermone), containing instructions for candidates for
baptism (competentes). The first book dealt with the conduct of
the candidates; the second treated of erroneous ideas of
heathens; the third, of belief in one Divine Majesty; the
fourth, of superstitious customs at the birth of a child
(calculating nativities); the fifth, of confession of faith; the
sixth, of the sacrifice of the paschal lamb. The work has not
been preserved in its entirety, yet the greater part is still
extant. Four fragments are known of the first book, one fragment
of the second, the third probably consists of the two treatises,
usually separated, but which undoubtedly belong together,
namely, "De ratione fidei" and "De Spiritus sancti potentia" (P.
L., LII, 847, 853). Nothing is known of the fourth book. The
fifth, however, is most probably identical with the "Explanatio
symboli habita ad competentes" (P. L., LII, 865-74); in the
manuscripts it is sometimes ascribed to Origen, sometimes to
Nicetas of Aquileia, but there are very strong reasons for
assigning it to the Bishop of Remesiana. Nothing is known of the
sixth book. Gennadius mentions another treatise addressed to a
fallen virgin, "Ad lapsam virginem libellus", remarking that it
would stimulate to reformation any who had fallen. This treatise
used to be wrongly identified with the "De lapsu virginis
consecratæ" (P. L., XVI, 367-84), traditionally assigned to St.
Ambrose. Dom Morin has edited a treatise, unknown until he
published it, "Epistola ad virginem lapsam" [Revue Bénédictine,
XIV (1897), 193-202], which with far more reason may be regarded
as the work of Nicetas.
Paulinus of Nola praises his friend as a hymn-writer; from this
it is evident that Gennadius has not given a complete list of
the writings of Nicetas. It is, therefore, not impossible that
further works, incorrectly ascribed by tradition to others, are
really his. Morin has given excellent reasons to prove that the
two treatises "De vigiliis servorum Dei" and "De psalmodiæ
bono", which were held to be writings of Nicetius of Trier (P.
L., LXVIII, 365-76), are in reality the work of Nicetas ["Revue
Biblique Internat.", VI (1897), 282-88; "Revue Bénédictine", XIV
(1897), 385-97, where Morin gives for the first time the
complete text of "De psalmodiæ bono"]. Particularly interesting
is the fresh proof produced -- again by Morin -- to show that
Nicetas, and not St. Ambrose, is the author of the "Te Deum"
[Revue Bénédictine, XI (1894), 49-77, 377-345]. Paulinus, like
Jerome, speaks of him particularly as a hymn-writer. (See TE
DEUM.) According to the testimony of Cassiodorus (De instit.
divinarum litterarum, xvi) the "Liber de Fide" of Nicetas was,
in his time, included in the treatise "De Fide" written by St.
Ambrose, which shows that at an early date some were found to
credit the great Bishop of Milan with works due to the Dacian
bishop. The first complete edition of the works of Nicetas is
that of Burn (see bibliography below).
BURN, Niceta of Remesiana, His Life and Works (Cambridge, 1905);
WEYMAN, Die Editio princeps des Niceta von Remesiana in Archiv
für lateinische Lexikographie, XIV (1905), 478-507; HÜMPEL,
Nicetas Bischof von Remesiana (Erlangen, 1895); CZAPLA,
Gennadius als Literarhistoriker (Münster, 1898), 56-61; TURNER,
Niceta and Ambrosiaster in Journal of Theological Studies, VII
(1906), 203-19, 355-72; PATIN, Niceta Bischof von Remesiana als
Schriftsteller und Theolog. (Munich, 1909); BARDENHEWER,
Patrology, tr. SHAHAN (St. Louis, 1907); KIHN, Patrologie, II
(Paderborn, 1908), 134-36.
J. P. KIRSCH.
St. Nicetius
St. Nicetius
A Bishop of Trier, born in the latter part of the fifth century,
exact date unknown; died in 563 or more probably 566. Saint
Nicetius was the most important bishop of the ancient See of
Trier, in the era when, after the disorders of the Migrations,
Frankish supremacy began in what had been Roman Gaul.
Considerable detail of the life of this vigorous and zealous
bishop is known from various sources, from letters written
either by or to him, from two poems of Venantius Fortunatus
(Poem., Lib. III, ix, X, ed. Leo, in Mon. Germ. Hist.: Auct.
antiq., IV (1881), Pt. I, 63-64 sq.) and above all from the
statements of his pupil Aredius, later Abbot of Limoges, which
have been preserved by Gregory of Tours (De vitis Patrum, xvii;
De Gloria Confessorum, xciii-xciv). Nicetius came from a
Gallo-Roman family; his home was apparently in Auvergne. The
Nicetius mentioned by Sidonius Apollinaris (Epist. VIII, vi) may
have been a relative. From his youth he devoted himself to
religious life and entered a monastery, where he developed so
rapidly in the exercise of Christian virtue and in sacred
learning that he was made abbot. It was while abbot that King
Theodoric I (511-34) learned to know and esteem him, Nicetius
often remonstrating with him on account of his wrong-doing
without, however, any loss of favour. After the death of Bishop
Aprunculus of Trier, an embassy of the clergy and citizens of
Trier came to the royal court to elect a new bishop. They
desired Saint Gallus, but the king refused his consent. They
then selected Abbot Nicetius, whose election was confirmed by
Theodoric. About 527 Nicetius set out as the new bishop for
Trier, accompanied by an escort sent by the king, and while on
the journey had opportunity to make known his firmness in the
administration of his office.
Trier had suffered terribly during the disorders of the
Migrations. One of the first cares of the new bishop was to
rebuild the cathedral church, the restoration of which is
mentioned by the poet Venantius Fortunatus. Archæological
research has shown, in the cathedral of Trier, the existence of
mason-work belonging to the Frankish period which may belong to
this reconstruction by Nicetius. A fortified castle (castellum)
with a chapel built by him on the river Moselle is also
mentioned by the same poet (Poem., Lib. III, n. xii). The
saintly bishop devoted himself with great zeal to his pastoral
duty. He preached daily, opposed vigorously the numerous evils
in the moral life both of the higher classes and of the common
people, and in so doing did not spare the king and his
courtiers. Disregarding threats, he steadfastly fulfilled his
duty. On account of his misdeeds he excommunicated King Clotaire
I (511-61), who for some time was sole ruler of the Frankish
dominions; in return the king exiled the determined bishop
(560). The king died, however, in the following year, and his
son and successor Sigebert, the ruler of Austrasia (561-75),
allowed Nicetius to return home. Nicetius took part in several
synods of the Frankish bishops: the synod of Clermont (535), of
Orléans (549), the second synod of Clermont (549), the synod of
Toul (550) at which he presided, and the synod of Paris (555).
Nicetius corresponded with ecclesiastical dignitaries of high
rank in distant places. Letters are extant that were written to
him by Abbot Florianus of Romain-Moûtier (Canton of Vaud,
Switzerland), by Bishop Rufus of Octodurum (now Martigny, in the
Canton of Valais, Switzerland), and by Archbishop Mappinius of
Reims. The general interests of the Church did not escape his
watchful care. He wrote an urgent letter to Emperor Justinian of
Constantinople in regard to the emperor's position in the
controversies arising from Monophysitism. Another letter that
has been preserved is to Clodosvinda, wife of the Lombard King
Alboin, in which he exhorts this princess to do everything
possible to bring her husband over to the Catholic faith. In his
personal life the saintly bishop was very ascetic and
self-mortifying; he fasted frequently, and while the priests and
clerics who lived with him were at their evening meal he would
go, concealed by a hooded cloak, to pray in the churches of the
city. He founded a school of his own for the training of the
clergy. The best known of his pupils is the later Abbot of
Limoges, Aredius, who was the authority of Gregory of Tours for
the latter's biographical account of Nicetius. Nicetius was
buried in the church of St. Maximin at Trier. His feast is
celebrated at Trier on 1 October; in the Roman Martyrology his
name is placed under 5 December. The genuineness of two
treatises ascribed to him is doubtful: "De Vigiliis servorum
Dei" and "De Psalmodiæ Bono".
Nicetius Opera in P. L. LXIII, 361 sqq.; HONTHEIM, Historia
Trevirensis diplomatica, I (Augsburg, 1750), lx, 35 sqq.; IDEM,
Prodromus historioe Trevirensis, I (Augsburg, 1757), 415 sqq.;
MABILLON, Acta Sanct. ord. S. Benedicti, I (Paris, 1668), 191
sqq.; MARX, Geschichte des Erzstifts Trier, I (Trier, 1858), 82
sq.; II, 377 sq.; MANDERNACH, Die Schriften des hl. Nicetius,
Bischof von Trier (Mainz, 1850); KAYSER, Leben und Schriften des
hl. Nicetius (Trier, 1873); MORIN in Revue bénédictine (1897),
385 sqq.
J. P. KIRSCH.
Niche
Niche
A recess for the reception of a statue, so designed as to give
it emphasis, frame it effectively, and afford some measure of
protection. It hardly existed prior to the twelfth century, and
is one of the chief decorative characteristics of Gothic
architecture. The constant and often lavish use of sculptured
images of the saints was an essential part of the great style
that was so perfectly to express the Catholic Faith, and that
had its beginnings in Normandy as a result of the great Cluniac
reformation; and from the moment the roughly chiselled
bas-relief swelled into the round and detached figure, the
unerring artistic instinct of the medieval builders taught them
-- as it had taught the Greeks -- that figure sculpture becomes
architectural only when it is incorporated with the building of
which it is a part, by means of surrounding architectural forms
that harmonize it with the fabric itself. In Romanesque work
this frame is little more than flanking shafts supporting an
arch, the statue being treated as an accessory, and given place
wherever a space of flat wall appeared between the columns and
arches of the structural decoration. The convenience, propriety
and beauty of the arrangement were immediately apparent,
however, and thenceforward the development of the niche as an
independent architectural form was constant and rapid. Not only
did the canopied niche assimilate the statue in the
architectural entity and afford it that protection from the
weather so necessary in the north; it also, in conjunction with
the statue itself, produced one of the richest compositions of
line, light, and shade known to art. The medieval architects
realized this and seized upon it with avidity, using it almost
as their chief means for obtaining those spots and spaces of
rich decoration that gave the final touch of perfection to their
marvellous fabrics. In the thirteenth century the wall became
recessed to receive the statue, the flanking shafts became
independent supports for an arched and gabled canopy, while a
pedestal was introduced, still further to tie the sculpture into
the architecture. Later the section of the embrasure became
hexagonal or octagonal, the arched canopy was cusped, the gable
enriched with crockets and pinnacles, and finally in the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the entire feature became
almost an independent composition, the canopy being developed
into a thing of marvellous complexity and richness, while it was
lavished on almost every part of the building, from the doors to
the spires, and within as well as without. Protestant and
revolutionary iconoclasm have left outside of France few
examples of niches properly filled by their original statues,
but in such masterpieces of art as the cathedrals of Paris,
Chartres, Amiens, and Reims, one may see in their highest
perfection these unique manifestations of the subtlety and
refinement of the perfect art of Catholic civilization.
RALPH ADAMS CRAM
Pope Saint Nicholas I
Pope St. Nicholas I
Born at Rome, date unknown; died 13 November, 867; one of the
great popes of the Middle Ages, who exerted decisive influence
upon the historical development of the papacy and its position
among the Christian nations of Western Europe. He was of a
distinguished family, being the son of the Defensor Theodore,
and received an excellent training. Already distinguished for
his piety, benevolence, ability, knowledge, and eloquence, he
entered, at an early age, the service of the Church, was made
subdeacon by Pope Sergius II (844-47), and deacon by Leo IV
(847-55). After Benedict's death (7 April, 858) the Emperor
Louis II, who was in the neighbourhood of Rome, came into the
city to exert his influence upon the election. On 24 April
Nicholas was elected pope, and on the same day was consecrated
and enthroned in St. Peter's in the presence of the emperor.
Three days after, he gave a farewell banquet to the emperor, and
afterward, accompanied by the Roman nobility, visited him in his
camp before the city, on which occasion the emperor came to meet
the pope and led his horse for some distance.
Christianity in Western Europe was then in a most melancholy
condition. The empire of Charlemagne had fallen to pieces,
Christian territory was threatened both from the north and the
east, and Christendom seemed on the brink of anarchy. Christian
morality was despised; many bishops were worldly and unworthy of
their office. There was danger of a universal decline of the
higher civilization. Pope Nicholas appeared as a conscientious
representative of the Roman Primacy in the Church. He was filled
with a high conception of his mission for the vindication of
Christian morality, the defence of God's law against powerful
bishops. Archbishop John of Ravenna oppressed the inhabitants of
the papal territory, treated his suffragan bishops with
violence, made unjust demands upon them for money, and illegally
imprisoned priests. He also forged documents to support his
claims against the Roman See and maltreated the papal legates.
As the warnings of the pope were without result, and the
archbishop ignored a thrice-repeated summons to appear before
the papal tribunal, he was excommunicated. Having first visited
the Emperor Louis at Pavia, the archbishop repaired, with two
imperial delegates. To Rome, where Nicholas cited him before the
Roman synod assembled in the autumn of 860. Upon this John fled
from Rome. Going in person to Ravenna, the pope then
investigated and equitably regulated everything. Again appealing
to the emperor, the archbishop was recommended by him to submit
to the pope, which he did at the Roman Synod of November, 861.
Later on, however, he entered into a pact with the
excommunicated Archbishops of Trier and Cologne, was himself
again excommunicated, and once more forced to make his
submission to the pope. Another conflict arose between Nicholas
and Archbishop Hincmar of Rims: this concerned the prerogatives
of the papacy. Bishop Rothad of Soissons had appealed to the
pope against the decision of the Synod of Soissons, of 861,
which had deposed him; Hincmar opposed the appeal to the pope,
but eventually had to acknowledge the right of the papacy to
take cognizance of important legal causes (causæ majores) and
pass independent judgment upon them. A further dispute broke out
between Hincmar and the pope as to the elevation of the cleric
Wulfad to the archiepiscopal See of Bourges, but here, again,
Hincmar finally submitted to the decrees of the Apostolic See,
and the Frankish synods passed corresponding ordinances.
Nicholas showed the same zeal in other efforts to maintain
ecclesiastical discipline, especially as to the marriage laws.
Ingiltrud, wife of Count Boso, had left her husband for a
paramour; Nicholas commanded the bishops in the dominions of
Charles the Bold to excommunicate her unless she returned to her
husband. As she paid no attention to the summons to appear
before the Synod of Milan in 860, she was put under the ban. The
pope was also involved in a desperate struggle with Lothair II
of Lorraine over the inviolability of marriage. Lothair had
abandoned his lawful wife Theutberga to marry Waldrada. At the
Synod of Aachen, 28 April, 862, the bishops of Lorraine,
unmindful of their duty, approved of this illicit union. At the
Synod of Metz, June, 863, the papal legates, bribed by the king,
assented to the Aachen decision, and condemned the absent
Theutberga. Upon this the pope brought the matter before his own
tribunal. The two archbishops, G????nther of Cologne and
Thietgaud of Trier, who had come to Rome as delegates, were
summoned before the Lateran Synod of October, 863, when the pope
condemned and deposed them as well as John of Ravenna and Hagano
of Bergamo. The Emperor Louis II took up the cause of the
deposed bishops, while King Lothair advanced upon Rome with an
army and laid siege to the city, so that the pope was confined
for two days in St. Peter's without food. Yet Nicholas did not
waver in his determination; the emperor, after being reconciled
with the pope, withdrew from Rome and commanded the Archbishops
of Trier and Cologne to return to their homes. Nicholas never
ceased from his efforts to bring about a reconciliation between
Lothair and his lawful wife, but without effect. Another
matrimonial case in which Nicholas interposed was that of
Judith, daughter of Charles the Bold, who had married Baldwin,
Count of Flanders, without her father's consent. Frankish
bishops had excommunicated Judith, and Hincmar of Reims had
taken sides against her, but Nicholas urged leniency, in order
to protect freedom of marriage. In many other ecclesiastical
matters, also, he issued letters and decisions, and he took
active measures against bishops who were neglectful of their
duties.
In the matter of the emperor and the patriarchs of
Constantinople Nicholas showed himself the Divinely appointed
ruler of the Church. In violation of ecclesiastical law, the
Patriarch Ignatius was deposed in 857 and Photius illegally
raised to the patriarchal see. In a letter addressed (8 May,
862) to the patriarchs of the East, Nicholas called upon them
and all their bishops to refuse recognition to Photius, and at a
Roman synod held in April, 863, he excommunicated Photius. He
also encouraged the missionary activity of the Church. He
sanctioned the union of the Sees of Bremen and Hamburg, and
confirmed to St. Anschar, Archbishop of Bremen, and his
successors the office of papal legate to the Danes, Swedes, and
Slavs. Bulgaria having been converted by Greek missionaries, its
ruler, Prince Boris, in August, 863, sent an embassy to the pope
with one hundred and six questions on the teaching and
discipline of the Church. Nicholas answered these inquiries
exhaustively in the celebrated "Responsa Nicolai ad consulta
Bulgarorum" (Mansi, "Coll. Conc.", XV, 401 sqq.). The letter
shows how keen was his desire to foster the principles of an
earnest Christian life in this newly-converted people. At the
same time he sent an embassy to Prince Boris, charged to use
their personal efforts to attain the pope's object.
Nevertheless, Boris finally joined the Eastern Church.
At Rome, Nicholas rebuilt and endowed several churches, and
constantly sought to encourage religious life. His own personal
life was guided by a spirit of earnest Christian asceticism and
profound piety. He was very highly esteemed by the citizens of
Rome, as he was by his contemporaries generally (cf. Regino,
"Chronicon", ad an. 868, in "Mon. Germ. Hist." Script.", I,
579), and after death was regarded as a saint. A much discussed
question and one that is important in judging the position taken
by this pope is, whether he made use of the forged
pseudo-Isidorian papal decretals. After exhaustive
investigation, Schrörs has decided that the pope wasneither
acquainted with the pseudo-Isidorian collection in its entire
extent, nor did he make use of its individual parts; that he had
perhaps a general knowledge of the false decretals, but did not
base his view of the law upon them, and that he owed his
knowledge of them solely to documents which came to him from the
Frankish Empire [Schrörs, "Papst Nikolaus I. und Pseudo-Isidor"
in "Historisches Jahrbuch", XXV (1904), 1 sqq.; Idem, "Die
pseudoisidorische 'Exceptio spolii' bei Papst Nikolaus I" in
"Historisches Jahrbuch", XXVI (1905), 275 sqq.].
J.P. KIRSCH
Pope Nicholas II
Pope Nicholas II
(GERHARD OF BURGUNDY)
Nicholas was born at Chevron, in what is now Savoy; elected at
Siena, December, 1058; died at Florence 19 or 27 July, 1061.
Like his predecessor, Stephen X, he was canon at Liège. In 1046
he became Bishop of Florence, where he restored the canonical
life among the clergy of numerous churches. As soon as the news
of the death of Stephen X at Florence reached Rome (4 April,
1058). the Tusculan party appointed a successor in the person of
John Mincius, Bishop of Velletri, under the name of Benedict X.
His elevation, due to violence and corruption, was contrary to
the specific orders of Stephen X that, at his death, no choice
of a successor was to be made until Hildebrand's return from
Germany. Several cardinals protested against the irregular
proceedings, but they were compelled to flee from Rome.
Hildebrand was returning from his mission when the news of these
events reached him. He interrupted his journey at Florence, and
after agreeing with Duke Godfrey of Lorraine-Tuscany upon Bishop
Gerhard for elevation to the papacy, he won over part of the
Roman population to the support of his candidate. An embassy
dispatched to the imperial court secured the confirmation of the
choice by the Empress Agnes. At Hildebrand's invitation, the
cardinals met in December, 1058, at Siena and elected Gerhard
who assumed the name of Nicholas II. On his way to Rome the new
pope held at Sutri a well-attended synod at which, in the
presence of Duke Godfrey and the imperial chancellor, Guibert of
Parma, he pronounced deposition against Benedict X. The latter
was driven from the city in January, 1059, and the solemn
coronation of Nicholas took place on the twenty-fourth of the
same month. A cultured and stainless man, the new pontiff had
about him capable advisers, but to meet the danger still
threatening from Benedict X and his armed supporters, Nicholas
empowered Hildebrand to enter into negotiations with the Normans
of southern Italy. The papal envoy recognized Count Richard of
Aversa as Prince of Capua and received in return Norman troops
which enabled the papacy to carry on hostilities against
Benedict in the Campagna. This campaign did not result in the
decisive overthrow of the opposition party, but it enabled
Nicholas to undertake in the early part of 1059 a pastoral
visitation to Spoleto, Farfa, and Osimo. During this journey he
raised Abbot Desiderius of Monte Cassino to the dignity of
cardinal-priest and appointed him legate to Campania, Benevento,
Apulia, and Calabria. Early in his pontificate he had sent St.
Peter Damiani and Bishop Anselm of Lucca as his legates to
Milan, where a married and simoniacal clergy had recently given
rise to a reform-party known as the "Pataria". A synod for the
restoration of ecclesiastical discipline was held under the
presidency of these envoys who, in spite of a tumultuous
uprising which endangered their lives, succeeded in obtaining
from Archbishop Guido and the Milanese clergy a solemn
repudiation of simony and concubinage.
One of the most pressing needs of the time was the reform of
papal elections. It was right that they should be freed from the
nefarious influence of the Roman factions and the secular
control of the emperor, hitherto less disastrous but always
objectionable. To this end Nicholas II held in the Lateran at
Easter, 1059 a synod attended by one hundred and thirteen
bishops and famous for its law concerning papal elections.
Efforts to determine the authentic text of this decree caused
considerable controversy in the nineteenth century. That the
discussions did not result in a consensus of opinion on the
matter need not surprise, if it be remembered that thirty years
after the publication of the decree complaints were heard
regarding the divergency in the text. We possess to-day a papal
and an imperial recension and the sense of the law may be stated
substantially as follows: --
+ (1) At the death of the pope, the cardinal-bishops are to
confer among themselves concerning a candidate, and, after
they have agreed upon a name, they and the other cardinals are
to proceed to the election. The remainder of the clergy and
the laity enjoy the right of acclaiming their choice.
+ (2) A member of the Roman clergy is to be chosen, except that
where a qualified candidate cannot be found in the Roman
Church, an ecclesiastic from another diocese may be elected.
+ (3) The election is to be held at Rome, except that when a
free choice is impossible there, it may take place elsewhere.
+ (4) If war or other circumstances prevent the solemn
enthronization of the new pope in St. Peter's Chair, he shall
nevertheless enjoy the exercise of full Apostolic authority.
+ (5) Due regard is to be had for the right of confirmation or
recognition conceded to King Henry, and the same deference is
to be shown to his successors, who have been granted
personally a like privilege.
These stipulations constituted indeed a new law, but they were
also intended as an implicit approbation of the procedure
followed at the election of Nicholas II. As to the imperial
right of confirmation, it became a mere personal privilege
granted by the Roman See. The same synod prohibited simoniacal
ordinations, lay investiture, and assistance at the Mass of a
priest living in notorious concubinage. The rules governing the
life of canons and nuns which were published at the diet of
Aix-la-Chapelle (817) were abolished, because they allowed
private property and such abundant food that, as the bishops
indignantly exclaimed, they were adapted to sailors and
intemperate matrons rather than to clerics and nuns. Berengarius
of Tours, whose views opposed to the doctrine of Christ's real
presence in the Eucharist, had repeatedly been condemned, also
appeared at the Council and was compelled to sign a formula of
abjuration.
At the end of June, 1059, Nicholas proceeded to Monte Cassino
and thence to Melfi, the capital of Norman Apulia, where he held
an important synod and concluded the famous alliance with the
Normans (July-August, 1059). Duke Robert Guiscard was invested
with the sovereignty of Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily in case he
should reconquer it from the Saracens; he bound himself, in
return, to pay an annual tribute, to hold his lands as the
pope's vassal, and to protect the Roman See, its possessions,
and the freedom of papal elections. A similar agreement was
concluded with Prince Richard of Capua. After holding a synod at
Benevento Nicholas returned to Rome with a Norman army which
reconquered Præneste, Tusculum, and Numentanum for the Holy See
and forced Benedict X to capitulate at Galeria (autumn of 1059).
Hildebrand, the soul of the pontificate, was now created
archdeacon. In order to secure the general acceptance of the
laws enacted at the synod of 1059, Cardinal Stephen, in the
latter part of that year, was sent to France where he presided
over the synods of Vienne (31 January, 1060) and Tours (17
February, 1060). The decree which introduced a new method of
papal election had caused great dissatisfaction in Germany,
because it reduced the imperial right of confirmation to the
precarious condition of a personal privilege granted at will;
but, assured of Norman protection, Nicholas could fearlessly
renew the decree at the Lateran synod held in 1060. After this
council Cardinal Stephen, who had accomplished his mission to
France, appeared as papal legate in Germany. For five days he
vainly solicited an audience at court and then returned to Rome.
His fruitless mission was followed by a German synod which
annulled all the ordinances of Nicholas II and pronounced his
deposition. The pope's answer was a repetition of the decree
concerning elections at the synod of 1061, at which the
condemnation of simony and concubinage among the clergy was
likewise renewed. He lies buried in the church of St. Reparata
at Florence of which city he had remained bishop even after his
elevation to the papal throne. His pontificate, though of short
duration, was marked by events fraught with momentous and
far-reaching consequences.
JAFFÉ, Regesta Pontif. Roman., I (2nd ed., Leipzig, 1885),
557-66; Diplomata, Epistoloe, Decreta in P. L., CXLIII, 1301-66;
CLAVEL, Le Pape Nicolas II (Lyons, 1906); DELARC, Le Pontificat
de Nicoles II in Rev. des Quest. Hist., XL (1886), 341-402;
WURM, Die Papstwahl (Cologne, 1902), 24-8; HEFELE,
Conciliengeschichte, IV (2nd ed., Freiburg, 1879), 798-850;
MANN, Lives of the Popes, VI (St. Louis, 1910), 226-60; FUNK,
tr. CAPPADELTA, Church History, I (St. Louis, 1910), 263-4, 274.
For bibliography of the election decree, see
HERGENRÖTHER-KIRSCH, Kirchengeschichte, II (Freiburg, 1904),
342-4.
N. A. WEBER.
Pope Nicholas III
Pope Nicholas III
(GIOVANNI GAETANI ORSINI)
Born at Rome, c. 1216; elected at Viterbo, 25 November, 1277;
died at Soriano, near Viterbo, 22 August, 1280. His father,
Matteo Rosso, was of the illustrious Roman family of the Orsini,
while his mother, Perna Gaetana, belonged to the noble house of
the Gaetani. As senator Matteo Rosso had defended Rome against
Frederick II and saved it to the papacy. He was a friend of St.
Francis of Assisi and belonged to his third order, facts not
without influence on the son, for both as cardinal and pope the
latter was ever kindly disposed towards the Franciscans. We have
no knowledge of his education and early life. Innocent IV,
grateful for the services rendered to the Holy See by his
father, created the young Orsini (28 May, 1244) cardinal-deacon
with the title of St. Nicholas in Carcere Tulliano, and gave him
benefices at York, Laon, and Soissons. Probably at an earlier
date the administration of the Roman churches of San Lorenzo in
Damaso and of San Crisogono had been entrusted to him. One of
five cardinals, he accompanied Innocent IV in his flight from
Cività Vecchia to Genoa and thence to Lyons (29 June, 1244). In
1252 he was dispatched on an unsuccessful mission of peace to
the warring Guelphs and Ghibellines of Florence. In 1258 Louis
IX paid an eloquent tribute to his independence and impartiality
by suggesting his selection as equally acceptable to England and
to France for the solemn ratification of the peace concluded
between the two countries. His integrity was likewise above
reproach, for he never accepted gifts for his services. So great
was his influence in the Sacred College that the election of
Urban IV (1261) was mainly due to his intervention. Urban named
him general inquisitor (1262) and protector of the Franciscans
(1263). Under Clement IV (1265-68) he was a member of the
delegation of four cardinals who invested Charles of Anjou with
the Kingdom of Naples (28 June, 1265). Later he played a
prominent part at the elections of Gregory X, who received the
tiara at his hands, and of John XXI, whose counsellor he became
and who named him archpriest of St. Peter's. After a vacancy of
six months he succeeded John as Nicholas III.
True to his origin he endeavoured to free Rome from all foreign
influence. His policy aimed not only at the exclusion of the
ever-troublesome imperial authority, but also sought to check
the growing influence of Charles of Anjou in central Italy. At
his request Rudolf of Habsburg renounced (1278) all rights to
the possession of the Romagna, a renunciation subsequently
approved by the imperial princes. Nicholas took possession of
the province through his nephew, Latino, whom he had shortly
before (12 March, 1278) raised to the cardinalate. He created
Berthold, another nephew, Count of the Romagna, and on other
occasions remembered his relatives in the distribution of
honourable and lucrative places. He compelled Charles of Anjou
in 1278 to resign the regency of Tuscany and the dignity of
Roman Senator. To insure the freedom of papal elections, he
ordained in a constitution of 18 July, 1278, that thenceforward
the senatorial power and all municipal offices were to be
reserved to Roman citizens to the exclusion of emperor, king, or
other potentate. In furtherance of more harmonious relations
with the Byzantine court, the pope also aimed at restricting the
power of the King of Naples in the East. To his efforts was due
the agreement concluded in 1280 between Rudolf of Habsburg and
Charles of Anjou, by which the latter accepted Provence and
Forcalquier as imperial fiefs and secured the betrothal of his
grandson to Clementia, one of Rudolf's daughters. The
much-discussed plan of a new division of the empire into four
parts is not sufficiently attested to be attributed with
certainty to Nicholas. In this partition Germany, as hereditary
monarchy, was to fall to Rudolf, the Kingdom of Arles was to
devolve on his son-in-law, Charles Martel of Anjou, while the
Kingdoms of Lombardy and Tuscany were to be founded in Italy and
bestowed on relatives of the pope. Nicholas's efforts for the
promotion of peace between France and Castile remained
fruitless. Unable to carry out his desire of personally
appearing in Hungary, where internal dissensions and the
devastations of the Cumani endangered the very existence of
Christianity, he named, in the fall of 1278, Bishop Philip of
Fermo his legate to that country. A synod, held at Buda in 1279
under the presidency of the papal envoy, could not complete its
deliberations owing to the violent interference of the people.
King Ladislaus IV, instigator of the trouble, was threatened in
a papal letter with spiritual and temporal penalties if he
failed to reform his ways. The king temporarily heeded this
solemn admonition, and at a later date suppressed the raids of
the Cumani. The appointments of worthy incumbents to the
Archbishoprics of Gran and Kalocsa-Bacs made under this
pontificate further helped to strengthen the cause of
Christianity.
The task of Nicholas III in his dealings with the Eastern Church
was the practical realization of the union accepted by the
Greeks at the Second Council of Lyons (1274), for political
reasons rather than out of dogmatic persuasion. The instructions
to the legates whom he sent to Constantinople contained, among
other conditions, the renewal by the emperor of the oath sworn
to by his representatives at Lyons. The maintenance of the Greek
Rite was granted only in so far as papal authority did not
consider it opposed to unity of faith; those of the clergy
opposed to reunion were required to obtain absolution of the
incurred censures from the Roman envoys. These were more
rigorous conditions than had been imposed by his predecessors,
but the failure of the negotiations for reunion can hardly be
attributed to them, for the Greek nation was strongly opposed to
submission to Rome and the emperor pursued temporal advantages
under cover of desire for ecclesiastical harmony. At the request
of Abaga, Khan of the Tatars, the pope sent him in 1278 five
Franciscan missionaries who were to preach the Gospel first in
Persia and then in China. They encountered considerable
obstacles in the former country and it was not until the
pontificate of Nicholas IV that their preaching produced
appreciable results. The realization of the pope's desire for
the organization of a Crusade was frustrated by the distracted
state of European politics. On 14 August, 1279, he issued the
constitution "Exiit qui seminat", which is still fundamental for
the interpretation of the Rule of St. Francis and in which he
approved the stricter observance of poverty (see FRANCIS, RULE
OF SAINT). While the Vatican had been occupied from time to time
by some of his predecessors, Nicholas III established there the
papal residence, remodelled and enlarged the palace, and secured
in its neighbourhood landed property, subsequently transformed
into the Vatican gardens. He lies buried in the Chapel of St.
Nicholas, built by him in St. Peter's. He was an
ecclesiastically-minded pontiff of great diplomatic ability and,
if we except his acts of nepotism, of unblemished character.
GAY, Les Registres de Nicolas III (Paris, 1898-1904); POTTHAST,
Regesta Pontif. Roman., II (Berlin, 1875), 1719-56; SAVIO,
Niccolò III in Civiltà Cattolica, ser. XV-XVI (Rome, 1894-5);
DEMSKI, Papst Nikolaus III (Münster, 1903); STERNFELD, Der
Kardinal Johann Gaetan Orsini (1244-77) (Berlin, 1905); MIRBP in
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia, s. v.
N.A. WEBER.
Pope Nicholas IV
Pope Nicholas IV
(GIROLAMO MASCI)
Born at Ascoli in the March of Ancona; died in Rome, 4 April,
1292. He was of humble extraction, and at an early age entered
the Franciscan Order. In 1272 he was sent as a delegate to
Constantinople to invite the participation of the Greeks in the
Second Council of Lyons. Two years later he succeeded St.
Bonaventure in the generalship of his order. While he was on a
mission to France to promote the restoration of peace between
that country and Castile, he was created cardinal-priest with
the title of Santa Pudenziana (1278) and in 1281 Martin IV
appointed him Bishop of Palestrina. After the death of Honorius
IV (3 April, 1287), the conclave held at Rome was for a time
hopelessly divided in its selection of a successor. When fever
had carried off six of the electors, the others, with the sole
exception of Girolamo, left Rome. It was not until the following
year that they reassembled and on 15 February, 1288, unanimously
elected him to the papacy. Obedience and a second election
however (22 February) were alone capable of overcoming his
reluctance to accept the supreme pontificate. He was the first
Franciscan pope, and in loving remembrance of Nicholas III he
assumed the name of Nicholas IV.
The reign of the new pope was not characterized by sufficient
independence. The undue influence exercised at Rome by the
Colonna is especially noteworthy and was so apparent even during
his lifetime that Roman wits represented him encased in a column
-- the distinctive mark of the Colonna family -- out of which
only his tiara-covered head emerged. The efforts of Rudolf of
Habsburg to receive the imperial crown at the hands of the new
pope were not successful. His failure was partly due to the
estrangement consequent upon the attitude assumed by the pope in
the question of the Sicilian succession. As feudal suzerain of
the kingdom, Nicholas annulled the treaty, concluded in 1288
through the mediation of Edward I of England, which confirmed
James of Aragon in the possession of the island, He lent his
support to the rival claims of the House of Anjou and crowned
Charles II King of Sicily and Naples at Rieti, 29 May, 1289,
after the latter had expressly acknowledged the suzerainty of
the Apostolic See and promised not to accept any municipal
dignity in the States of the Church. The action of the pope did
not end the armed struggle for the possession of Sicily nor did
it secure the kingdom permanently to the House of Anjou. Rudolf
of Habsburg also failed to obtain from the pope the repeal of
the authorization, granted the French king, to levy tithes in
certain German districts for the prosecution of the war against
the House of Aragon. When he appointed his son Albert to succeed
Ladislaus IV of Hungary (31 August, 1290), Nicholas claimed the
realm as a papal fief and conferred it upon Charles Martel, son
of Charles II of Naples.
In 1291 the fall of Ptolemais put an end to Christian dominion
in the East. Previous to this tragic event, Nicholas had in vain
endeavoured to organize a crusade. He now called upon all the
Christian princes to take up arms against the Mussulman and
instigated the holding of councils to devise the means of
sending assistance to the Holy Land. These synods were to
discuss likewise the advisability of the union of the Knights
Templars and Knights of St. John, as the dissensions among them
had partly caused the loss of Ptolemais. The pope himself
initiated the preparations for the crusade and fitted out twenty
ships for the war. His appeals and his example remained
unheeded, however, and nothing of permanent value was
accomplished.
Nicholas IV sent missionaries, among them the celebrated John of
Montecorvino (q. v.), to the Bulgarians, Ethiopians, Tatars, and
Chinese. By his constitution of 18 July, 1289, the cardinals
were granted one half of the revenues of the Apostolic See and a
share in the financial administration. In 1290 he renewed the
condemnation of the sect known as the Apostolici (q. v.).
Nicholas was pious and learned; he contributed to the artistic
beauty of Rome, building particularly a palace beside Santa
Maria Maggiore, the church in which he was buried and where
Sixtus V erected an imposing monument to his memory.
LANGLOIS, Les Registres de Nicolas IV (Paris, 1886-93);
POTTHAST, Regesta pontificum Romanorum, II (Berlin, 1875),
1826-1915; KALTENBRUNNER, Aktenstücke zur Gesch, des Deutschen
Reiches unter Rudolf I und Albrecht I (Vienna, 1889); REUMONT,
Gesch, der Stadt Rom, II (Berlin, 1867), 611-14; SCHIFF, Studien
zur Gesch. Papst Nikolaus, IV (Berlin, 1897); MASSI, Niccolò IV
(Sinigaglia, 1905); SCHAFF, History of the Christian Church, V,
pt. I (New York, 1907), 207, 287, 410.
N. A. WEBER.
Pope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V
(TOMMASO PARENTUCELLI)
A name never to be mentioned without reverence by every lover of
letters, born at Sarzana in Liguria, 15 November, 1397; died in
Rome, 24-5 March, 1455. While still a youth he lost his father,
a poor but skilful physician, and was thereby prevented from
completing his studies at Bologna. He became tutor in the
families of the Strozzi and Albizzi at Florence, where he made
the acquaintance of the leading Humanist scholars of the day. In
1419 he returned to Bologna, and three years later took his
degree as master of theology. The saintly bishop of Bologna,
Niccolò Albergati, now took him into his service. For more than
twenty years Parentucelli was the bishop's factotum, and in that
capacity was enabled to indulge his passion for building and
that of collecting books. Unlike many bibliophiles he was as
well acquainted with the matter contained within his volumes as
with their bindings and value. Some of them are still preserved,
and contain many marginal notes in his beautiful writing. His
knowledge was of the encyclopedic character not unusual at a
time when the learned undertook to argue de omni re scibili. His
mind, however, was receptive rather than productive.
Nevertheless, he could make good use of what he had studied, as
was shown at the Council of Florence where his familiarity with
Patristic and Scholastic theology gave him a prominent place in
the discussions with the Greek bishops. He accompanied Albergati
in various legatine missions, notably to France, and was always
watchful for rare and beautiful books. Eugene IV wished to
attach such a brilliant scholar to his own person; but
Parentucelli remained faithful to his patron. On the death of
the latter he was appointed to succeed him in the See of
Bologna, but was unable to take possession owing to the troubled
state of the city. This led to his being entrusted by Pope
Eugene with important diplomatic missions in Italy and Germany,
which he carried out with such success that he obtained as his
reward a cardinal's hat (Dec., 1446). Early next year (23 Feb.)
Eugene died, and Parentucelli was elected in his place, taking
as his name Nicholas in memory of his obligations to Niccolò
Albergati (6 March, 1447).
As soon as the new pontiff was firmly seated on his throne, it
was felt that a new spirit had come into the papacy. Now that
there was no longer any danger of a fresh outbreak of schism and
the Council of Constance had lost all influence, Nicholas could
devote himself to the accomplishment of objects which were the
aim of his life and had been the means of raising him to his
present exalted position. He designed to make Rome the site of
splendid monuments, the home of literature and art, the bulwark
of the papacy, and the worthy capital of the Christian world.
His first care was to strengthen the fortifications, and restore
the churches in which the stations were held. Next he took in
hand the cleansing and paving of the streets. Rome, once famous
for the number and magnificence of its aqueducts, had become
almost entirely dependent for its water supply on the Tiber and
on wells and cisterns. The "Aqua Virgo", originally constructed
by Agrippa, was restored by Nicholas, and is to this day the
most prized by the Romans, under the name of "Acqua Trevi". But
the works on which he especially set his heart were the
rebuilding of the Leonine City, the Vatican, and the Basilica of
St. Peter. On this spot, as in a centre, the glories of the
papacy were to be focused. We cannot here enter into a
description of the noble designs which he entertained (see
Pastor, "History of the Popes", II, 173 sqq., Eng. tr.). The
basilica, the palace, and the fortress of the popes are not now
what he would have made them; but their actual splendours are
due in no small measure to the lofty aspirations of Nicholas V.
He has been severely censured for pulling down a portion of the
old St. Peter's and planning the destruction of the remainder.
He defended his action on the ground that the buildings were on
the verge of ruin (Müntz, "Les Arts à la Cour des Papes", p.
118); but the almost equally ancient Basilica of San Paolo fuori
le Mura was preserved by judicious restorations until it was
destroyed by fire in 1823. The pontiff's veneration for
antiquity may have yielded to his desire to construct an edifice
more in harmony with the classical taste of the Renaissance
school, of which he himself was so ardent an adherent. Nothing
but praise, however, can be given to him for his work in the
Vatican Palace. Indeed it was he who first made it the worthy
residence of the popes. Some of his constructions still remain,
notably the left side of the court of St. Damasus and the chapel
of San Lorenzo, decorated with Fra Angelico's frescoes.
Though a patron of art in all its branches, it was literature
that obtained his highest favours. His lifelong love of books
and his delight in the company of scholars could now be
gratified to the full. His immediate predecessors had held the
Humanists in suspicion; Nicholas welcomed them to the Vatican as
friends. Carried away by his enthusiasm for the New Learning, he
overlooked any irregularities in their morals or opinions. He
accepted the dedication of a work by Poggio, in which Eugene was
assailed as a hypocrite; Valla, the Voltaire of the Renaissance,
was made an Apostolic notary. In spite of the demands on his
resources for building purposes, he was always generous to
deserving scholars. If any of them modestly declined his bounty,
he would say: "Do not refuse; you will not always have a
Nicholas among you." He set up a vast establishment in the
Vatican for translating the Greek classics, so that all might
become familiar with at least the matter of these masterpieces.
"No department of literature owes so much to him as history. By
him were introduced to the knowledge of western Europe two great
and unrivalled models of historical composition, the work of
Herodotus and the work of Thucydides. By him, too, our ancestors
were first made acquainted with the graceful and lucid
simplicity of Xenophon and with the manly good sense of
Polybius" (Macaulay, Speech at Glasgow University). The crowning
glory of his pontificate was the foundation of the Vatican
Library. No lay sovereigns had such opportunities of collecting
books as the popes. Nicholas's agents ransacked the monasteries
and palaces of every country in Europe. Precious manuscripts,
which would have been eaten by the moths or would have found
their way to the furnace, were rescued from their ignorant
owners and sumptuously housed in the Vatican. In this way he
accumulated five thousand volumes at a cost of more than forty
thousand scudi. "It was his greatest joy to walk about his
library arranging the books and glancing through their pages,
admiring the handsome bindings, and taking pleasure in
contemplating his own arms stamped on those that had been
dedicated to him, and dwelling in thought on the gratitude that
future generations of scholars would entertain towards their
benefactor. Thus he is to be seen depicted in one of the halls
of the Vatican library, employed in settling his books" (Voigt,
quoted by Pastor, II, 213).
His devotion to art and literature did not prevent him from the
performance of his duties as Head of the Church. By the
Concordat of Vienna (1448) he secured the recognition of the
papal rights concerning bishoprics and benefices. He also
brought about the submission of the last of the antipopes, Felix
V, and the dissolution of the Synod of Basle (1449). In
accordance with his general principle of impressing the popular
mind by outward and visible signs, he proclaimed a Jubilee which
was the fitting symbol of the cessation of the schism and the
restoration of the authority of the popes (1450). Vast
multitudes flocked to Rome in the first part of the year; but
when the hot weather began, the plague which had been ravaging
the countries north of the Alps wrought fearful havoc among the
pilgrims. Nicholas was seized with a panic; he hurried away from
the doomed city and fled from castle to castle in the hope of
escaping infection. As soon as the pestilence abated he returned
to Rome, and received the visits of many German princes and
prelates who had long been upholders of the decrees of Constance
and Basle. But another terrible calamity marred the general
rejoicings. More than two hundred pilgrims lost their lives in a
crush which occurred on the bridge of Sant' Angelo a few days
before Christmas. Nicholas erected two chapels at the entrance
of the bridge where Mass was to be said daily for the repose of
the souls of the victims.
On this occasion, as in previous Jubilees, vast sums of money
found their way into the treasury of the Church, thus enabling
the pontiff to carry out his designs for the promotion of art
and learning, and the support of the poor. As the Jubilee was
the proof that Rome was the centre towards which all Christendom
was drawn, so at its conclusion Nicholas sent forth his legates
into the different countries to assert his authority and to
bring about the reform of abuses. Cardinal D'Estouteville was
sent to France; Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa, one of the most
devout and learned men of his day, was sent to North Germany and
England; and the heroic Franciscan, St. John Capistran, to South
Germany. They held provincial and other synods and assemblies of
the regular clergy, in which wholesome decrees were made.
Nicholas of Cusa and St. John preached the word in season and
out of season, thereby producing wonderful conversions among
both clergy and laity. If they did not succeed in destroying the
germs of the Protestant revolt, they certainly postponed for a
while the evil and narrowed the sphere of its influence. It
should be noted that Cusa never reached England, and that
D'Estouteville initiated the process for the rehabilitation of
Bl. Joan of Arc. The restored authority of the Holy See was
further manifested by the coronation of Frederick III as
Sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire, the first of the House of
Habsburg raised to that dignity, and the last of the emperors
crowned in Rome (1452).
Meantime the pontiff's own subjects caused him great anxiety.
Stefano Porcaro, an able scholar and politician, who had enjoyed
the favour of Martin V and Eugene IV, made several attempts to
set up a republic in Rome. Twice he was pardoned and pensioned
by the generous Nicholas, who would not sacrifice such an
ornament of the New Learning. At last he was seized on the eve
of a third plot, and condemned to death (Jan., 1453). A deep
gloom now settled down on the pontiff. His magnificent designs
for the glory of Rome and his mild government of his subjects
had not been able to quell the spirit of rebellion. He began to
collect troops and never stirred abroad without a strong guard.
His health, too, began to suffer seriously, though he was by no
means an old man. And before the conspiracy was thoroughly
stamped out a fresh blow struck him from which he never
recovered. We have seen what a prominent part Parentucelli had
taken in the Council of Florence. The submission of the Greek
bishops had not been sincere. On their return to Constantinople
most of them openly rejected the decrees of the council and
declared for the continuance of the schism. Eugene IV vainly
endeavoured to stir up the Western nations against the
ever-advancing Turks. Some help was given by the Republics of
Venice and Genoa; but Hungary and Poland, more nearly menaced,
supplied the bulk of the forces. A victory at Nish (1443) had
been followed by two terrible defeats (Varna, 1444, and Kosovo,
1449). The whole of the Balkan peninsula, except Constantinople,
was now at the mercy of the infidels. The emperor, Constantine
XII, sent messages to Rome imploring the pope to summon the
Christian peoples to his aid. Nicholas sternly reminded him of
the promises made at Florence, and insisted that the terms of
the union should be observed. Nevertheless the fear that the
Turks would attack Italy, if they succeeded in capturing the
bulwark of the east, induced the pontiff to take some action --
especially as the emperor professed his readiness to accept the
decrees of the council. In May, 1452, Cardinal Isidore, an
enthusiastic Greek patriot, was sent as legate to
Constantinople. A solemn function in honour of the union was
celebrated on 12 Dec., 1452, with prayers for the pope and for
the patriarch, Gregorius. But the clergy and the populace cursed
the Uniates and boasted that they would rather submit to the
turban of the Turk than to the tiara of the Roman Pontiff. After
many obstacles and delays a force of ten papal galleys and a
number of vessels furnished by Naples, Genoa, and Venice set
sail for the East, but before they reached their destination the
imperial city had fallen and the Emperor Constantine was no more
(29 May, 1453). Whatever may have been the dilatoriness of
Nicholas up to this point -- and it must be acknowledged that he
had good reason for not helping the Greeks -- he now lost no
time. He addressed a Bull of Crusade to the whole of
Christendom. Every sort of inducement, spiritual and temporal,
was held out to those who should take part in the holy war.
Princes were exhorted to sink their differences and to unite
against the common foe. But the days of chivalry were gone: most
of the nations took no notice of the appeal; some of them, such
as Genoa and Venice, even solicited the friendship of the
infidels.
The gloom which had settled upon Nicholas after Porcaro's
conspiracy grew deeper as he realized that his warning voice had
been unheeded. Gout, fever, and other maladies warned him that
his end was at hand. Summoning the cardinals around him, he
delivered to them the famous discourse in which he set before
them the objects for which he had laboured, and enumerated with
pardonable pride the noble works which he had accomplished
(Pastor, II, 311). He died on the night between 24 and 25 of
March, 1455, and was laid in St. Peter's by the side of Eugene
IV. His splendid tomb was taken down by Paul V, and removed to
the crypt, where some portions of it may still be seen. His
epitaph, the last by which any pope was commemorated, was
written by Æneas Sylvius, afterwards Pius II.
Nicholas was small in stature and weakly in constitution. His
features were clear-cut; his complexion pale; his eyes dark and
piercing. In disposition he was lively and impetuous. A scholar
rather than a man of action, he underrated difficulties, and was
impatient when he was not instantly understood and obeyed. At
the same time he was obliging and cheerful, and readily granted
audience to his subjects. He was a man of sincere piety, simple
and temperate in his habits, He was entirely free from the bane
of nepotism, and exercised great care in the choice of
cardinals. We may truly say that the lofty aims, the scholarly
and artistic tastes, and the noble generosity of Nicholas form
one of the brightest pages in the history of the popes.
PLATINA, Lives of the Popes (English translation, London);
VESPASIANO DA BISTICCI, Vite di uomini illustri del secolo XV
(Rome, 1839); SFORZA, Ricerche su Niccolò V (Lucca, 1884);
MÜNTZ, Les Arts à la cour des papes pendant le xv ^e et le xvi
^e siècle (Paris, 1878-9); PASTOR, History of the Popes, II,
1-314, very complete and well documented (Eng. tr., London,
1891); GREGOROVIUS, Gesch. der Stadt Rom (Stuttgart, 1894);
REUMONT, Gesch, der Stadt Rom, III (Berlin, 1867-70); CREIGHTON,
History of the Papacy, III (London, 1897); GUIRAUD, L'église
romaine et les origines de la renaissance (Paris, 1904); MILMAN,
History of Latin Christianity, VIII (London, 1867).
T.B. SCANNELL
Nicholas Justiniani
Blessed Nicholas Justiniani
Date of birth unknown, became monk in the Benedictine monastery
of San Niccoló del Lido at Venice in 1153. When, in a military
expedition of the Venetians in 1172, all the other members of
the family of the Justiniani perished in the Ægean Sea near the
Island of Chios, the Republic of Venice mourned over this
disaster to so noble a family as over a public calamity. In
order that the entire family might not die out, the Venetian
Government sent Baron Morosin and Toma Falier as delegates to
Alexander III, with the request to dispense Nicholas from his
monastic vows. The dispensation was granted, and Nicholas
married Anna, the daughter of Doge Michieli, becoming through
her the parent of five new lines of his family. Shortly after
1179 he returned to the monastery of San Niccoló del Lido,
having previously founded a convent for women on the Island of
Aniano, where his wife took the veil. Both he and his wife died
in the odour of sanctity, and were venerated by the people,
though neither was ever formally beatified.
Gennari, Notizie spettanti al Bl. Niccolo Giustiniani, monaco di
S. Niccolo del Lido (Padua, 1794; Venice, 1845); Giustiniano,
Epistola ad Polycarpum, virum clarissimum in qua B. Nicholai
Justiniani Veneti monachatus a fabulis vanisque commentis
asseritur (Trent, 1746); Muratori, Rerum Italicarum scriptores,
XII, 293 and XXII, 503 sq.
Michael Ott
Nicholas of Cusa
Nicholas of Cusa
German cardinal, philosopher, and administrator, b. at Cues on
the Moselle, in the Archdiocese of Trier, 1400 or 1401; d. at
Todi, in Umbria, 11 August, 1464. His father, Johann Cryfts
(Krebs), a wealthy boatman (nauta, not a "poor fisherman"), died
in 1450 or 1451, and his mother, Catharina Roemers, in 1427. The
legend that Nicholas fled from the ill-treatment of his father
to Count Ulrich of Mandersheid is doubtfully reported by
Hartzheim (Vita N. de Cusa, Trier, 1730), and has never been
proved. Of his early education in a school of Deventer nothing
is known; but in 1416 he was matriculated in the University of
Heidelberg, by Rector Nicholas of Bettenberg, as "Nicholaus
Cancer de Coesze, cler[icus] Trever[ensis] dioc[esis]". A year
later, 1417, he left for Padua, where he graduated, in 1423, as
doctor in canon law (decretorum doctor) under the celebrated
Giuliano Cesarini. It is said that in later years, he was
honoured with the doctorate in civil law by the University of
Bologna. At Padua he became the friend of Paolo Toscanelli,
afterwards a celebrated physician and scientist. He studied
Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and, in later years, Arabic, though, as
his friend Johannes Andreæ, Bishop of Aleria, testifies, and as
appears from the style of his writings, he was not a lover of
rhetoric and poetry. That the loss of a lawsuit at Mainz should
have decided his choice of the clerical state, is not supported
by his previous career. Aided by the Archbishop of Trier, he
matriculated in the University of Cologne, for divinity, under
the rectorship of Petrus von Weiler, in 1425. His identity with
the "Nicolaus Trevirensis", who is mentioned as secretary to
Cardinal Orsini, and papal legate for Germany in 1426, is not
certain. After 1428, benefices at Coblenz, Oberwesel,
Münstermaifeld, Dypurgh, St. Wendel, and Liège fell to his lot,
successively or simultaneously.
His public career began in 1421, at the Council of Basle, which
opened under the presidency of his former teacher, Giuliano
Cesarini. The cause of Count Ulrich of Manderscheid, which he
defended, was lost and the transactions with the Bohemians, in
which the represented the German nation, proved fruitless. His
main efforts at the council were for the reform of the calendar
and for the unity, political and religious, of all Christendom.
In 1437 the orthodox minority sent him to Eugene IV, whom he
strongly supported. The pope entrusted him with a mission to
Constantinople, where, in the course of two months, besides
discovering Greek manuscripts of St. Basil and St. John
Damascene, he gained over for the Council of Florence, the
emperor, the patriarch, and twenty-eight archbishops. After
reporting the result of his missions to the pope at Ferrara, in
1438, he was created papal legate to support the cause of Eugene
IV. He did so before the Diets of Mainz (1441), Frankfort
(1442), Nuremberg (1444), again of Frankfort (1446), and even at
the court of Charles VII of France, with such force that Æneas
Sylvius called him the Hercules of the Eugenians. As a reward
Eugene IV nominated him cardinal; but Nicholas declined the
dignity. It needed a command of the next pope, Nicholas V, to
bring him to Rome for the acceptance of this honour. In 1449 he
was proclaimed cardinal-priest of the title of St. Peter ad
Vincula.
His new dignity was fraught with labours and crosses. The
Diocese of Brixen, the see of which was vacant, needed a
reformer. The Cardinal of Cusa was appointed (1450), but, owing
to the opposition of the chapter and of Sigmund, Duke of Austria
and Count of the Tyrol, could not take possession of the see
until two years later. In the meantime the cardinal was sent by
Nicholas V, as papal legate, to Northern Germany and the
Netherlands. He was to preach the Jubilee indulgence and to
promote the crusade against the Turks; to visit, reform, and
correct parishes, monasteries, hospitals; to endeavour to
reunite the Hussites with the Church; to end the dissnesions
between the Duke of Cleve and the Archbishop of Cologne; and to
treat with the Duke of Burgundy with a view to peace between
England and France. He crossed the Brenner in January, 1451,
held a provincial synod at Salzburg, visited Vienna, Munich,
Ratisbon, and Nuremberg, held a diocesan synod at Bamberg,
presided over the provincial chapter of the Benedictines at
Würzburg, and reformed the monasteries in the Dioceses of
Erfurt, Thuringia, Magdeburg, Hildesheim, and Minden. Through
the Netherlands he was accompanied by his friend Denys the
Carthusian. In 1452 he concluded his visitations by holding a
provincial synod at Cologne. Everywhere, according to Abbot
Trithemius, he had appeared as an angel of light and peace, but
it was not to be so in his own diocese. The troubles began with
the Poor Clares of Brixen and the Benedictine nuns of
Sonnenburg, who needed reformation, but were shielded by Duke
Sigmund. The cardinal had to take refuge in the stronghold of
Andraz, at Buchenstein, and finally, by special authority
received from Pius II, pronounced an interdict upon the
Countship of the Tyrol. In 1460 the duke made him prisoner at
Burneck and extorted from him a treaty unfavourable to the
bishopric. Nicholas fled to Pope Pius II, who excommunicated the
duke and laid an interdict upon the diocese, to be enforced by
the Archbishop of Salzburg. But the duke, himself an immoral
man, and, further, instigated by the antipapal humanist
Heimburg, defied the pope and appealed to a general council. It
needed the strong influence of the emperor, Frederick III, to
make him finally (1464) submit to the Church. This took place
some days after the cardinal's death. The account of the twelve
years' struggle given by Jäger and, after him, by Prantl, is
unfair to the "foreign reformer" (see Pastor, op. cit. infra,
II). The cardinal, who had accompanied Pius II to the Venetian
fleet at Ancona, was sent by the pope to Leghorn to hasten the
Genoese crusaders, but on the way succumbed to an illness, the
result of his ill-treatment at the hands of Sigmund, from which
he had never fully recovered. He died at Todi, in the presence
of his friends, the physician Toscanelli and Bishop Johannes
Andreæ.
The body of Nicholas of Cusa rests in his own titular church in
Rome, beneath an effigy of him sculptured in relief, but his
heart is deposited before the altar in the hospital of Cues.
This hospital was the cardinal's own foundation. By mutual
agreement with his sister Clare and his brother John, his entire
inheritance was made the basis of the foundation, and by the
cardinal's last will his altar service, manuscript library, and
scientific instruments were bequeathed to it. The extensive
buildings with chapel, cloister, and refectory, which were
erected in 1451-56, stand to this day, and serve their original
purpose of a home for thirty-three old men, in honour of the
thirty-three years of Christ's earthly life. Another foundation
of the cardinal was a residence at Deventer, called the Bursa
Cusana, where twenty poor clerical students were to be
supported. Among bequests, a sum of 260 ducats was left to S.
Maria dell' Anima in Rome, for an infirmary. In the archives of
this institution is found the original document of the
cardinal's last will.
The writings of Cardinal Nicholas may be classified under four
heads: (1) juridical writings: "De concordantia catholica" and
"De auctoritate præsidendi in concilio generali" (1432-35), both
written on occasion of the Council of Basle. The superiority of
the general councils over the pope is maintained; though, when
the majority of the assembly drew from these writings startling
conclusions unfavourable to Pope Eugene, the author seems to
have changed his views, as appears from his action after 1437.
The political reforms proposed were skilfully utilized by Görres
in 1814. (2) In his philosophical writings, composed after 1439,
he set aside the definition and methods of the "Aristotelean
Sect" and replaced them by deep speculations and mystical forms
of his own. The best known is his first treatise, "De docta
ignorantia" (1439- 40), on the finite and the infinite. The
Theory of Knowledge is critically examined in the treatise "De
conjecturis" (1440-44) and especially in the "Compendium"
(1464). In his Cosmology he calls the Creator the Possest
(posse-est, the possible- actual), alluding to the argument: God
is possible, therefore actual. His microcosmos in created things
has some similarity with the "monads" and the "emanation" of
Leibniz. (3) The theological treatises are dogmatic, ascetic,
and mystic. "De cribratione alchorani" (1460) was occasioned by
his visit to Constantinople, and was written for the conversion
of the Mohammedans. For the faithful were written: "De quærendo
Deum" (1445), "De filiatione Dei" (1445), "De visione Dei"
(1453), "Excitationum libri X" (1431-64), and others. The
favourite subject of his mystical speculations was the Trinity.
His concept of God has been much disputed, and has even been
called pantheistic. The context of his writings proves, however,
that they are all strictly Christian. Scharpff calls his
theology a Thomas à Kempis in philosophical language. (4) The
scientific writings consist of a dozen treatises, mostly short,
of which the "Reparatio Calendarii" (1436), with a correctgion
of the Alphonsine Tables, is the most important. (For an account
of its contents and its results, see Lilius, Aloisius.) The
shorter mathematical treatises are examined in Kästner's
"History of Mathematics", II. Among them is a claim for the
exact quadrature of the circle, which was refuted by
Regiomontanus [see MÜller (Regiomontanus), Johann ]. The
astronomical views of the cardinal are scattered through his
philosophical treatises. They evince complete independence of
traditional doctrines, though they are based on symbolism of
numbers, on combinations of letters, and on abstract
speculations rather than observation. The earth is a star like
other stars, is not the centre of the universe, is not at rest,
nor are its poles fixed. The celestial bodies are not strictly
spherical, nor are their orbits circular. The difference between
theory and appearance is explained by relative motion. Had
Copernicus been aware of these assertions he would probably have
been encouraged by them to publish his own monumental work. The
collected editions of Nicholas of Cusa's works are: Incunabula
(before 1476) in 2 vols., incomplete; Paris (1514) in 3 vols.;
Basle (1565), in 3 vols.
DÜx, Der deutsche Kardinal Nikolaus von Cusa und die Kirche
seiner Zeit (Ratisbon, 1847); Clemens, Giordano Bruno u.
Nikolaus von Cusa (Bonn, 1847); Zimmermann, Der Kardinal N. C.
als Vorläufer Leibnizens in Sitzungsber. Phil. Kl., VIII
(Vienna, 1852); JÄger, Der Streit des Kardinals N. v. C.
(Innsbruck, 1861); Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, VII (Freiburg,
1869); Scharpff, Der Kardinal u. Bischof N. v. C. (Tübingen,
1871); Grube in Hist. Jahrb. d. Görres-Gesellschaft, I (1880),
Die Legationsreise; Uebinger, Philosophie d. N. C. (Würzburg,
1880), dissert.; Idem, in Hist. Jahrb. d. Görres-Ges., VIII
(1887), Kardinallegat N. v. C.; Idem, ibid., XIV (1893), Zur
Lebensgesch. des N. C.; Idem, Die Gotteslehre des N. C. (Münster
and Paderborn, 1888); Birk in Theol. Quartalschr., LXXIV
(Tübingen, 1892); Janssen, Geschichte des deutschen Volkes, I
(Freiburg, 1897), 3-6, tr. Christie (London and St. Louis,
1908); Pastor, Geschichte der Päpste, II (Freiburg, 1904), tr.
Antrobus (St. Louis, 1902); Marx, Verzeichniss der Handschr. des
Hospitals zu Cues (Trier, 1905); Idem, Geschichte des
Armen-Hospitale ... zu Cues (Trier, 1907); Valois, Le Crise
religieuse du XV ^e siècle (Paris, 1909).
J.G. Hagen
Blessed Nicholas of Flue
Blessed Nicholas of Flüe
( De Rupe).
Born 21 March, 1417, on the Flüeli, a fertile plateau near
Sachseln, Canton Obwalden, Switzerland; died 21 March, 1487, as
a recluse in a neighboring ravine, called Ranft. He was the
oldest son of pious, well-to-do peasants and from his earliest
youth was fond of prayer, practiced mortification, and
conscientiously performed the labor of a peasant boy. At the age
of 21 he entered the army and took part in the battle of Ragaz
in 1446. Probably he fought in the battles near the Etzel in
1439, near Baar in the Canton of Zug in 1443, and assisted in
the capture of Zürich in 1444. He took up arms again in the
so-called Thurgau war against Archduke Sigismund of Austria in
1460. It was due to his influence that the Dominican Convent St.
Katharinental, whither many Austrians had fled after the capture
of Diessenhofen, was not destroyed by the Swiss confederates.
Heeding the advice of his parents he married, about the age of
twenty-five, a pious girl from Sachseln, named Dorothy Wyssling,
who bore him five sons and five daughters. His youngest son,
Nicholas, born in 1467, became a priest and a doctor of
theology. Though averse to worldly dignities, he was elected
cantonal councillor and judge. The fact that in 1462 he was one
of five arbiters appointed to settle a dispute between the
parish of Stans and the monastery of Engelberg, shows the esteem
in which he was held. After living about twenty-five years in
wedlock he listened to an inspiration of God and with the
consent of his wife left his family on 16 October, 1467, to live
as a hermit. At first he intended to go to a foreign country,
but when he came into the neighborhood of Basle, a divine
inspiration ordered him to take up his abode in the Ranft, a
valley along the Melcha, about an hour's walk from Sachseln.
Here, known as "Brother Klaus", he abode over twenty years,
without taking any bodily food or drink, as was established
through a careful investigation, made by the civil as well as
the ecclesiastical authorities of his times. He wore neither
shoes nor cap, and even in winter was clad merely in a hermit's
gown. In 1468 he saved the town of Sarnen from a conflagration
by his prayers and the sign of the cross. God also favored him
with numerous visions and the gift of prophecy. Distinguished
persons from nearly every country of Europe came to him for
counsel in matters of the utmost importance. At first he lived
in a narrow hut, which he himself had built with branches and
leaves, and came daily to Mass either at Sachseln or at Kerns.
Early in 1469 the civil authorities built a cell and a chapel
for him, and on 29 April of the same year the chapel was
dedicated by the vicar-general of Constance, Thomas, Bishop of
Ascalon. In 1479 a chaplain was put in charge of the chapel, and
thenceforth Nicholas always remained in the Ranft. When in 1480
delegates of the Swiss confederates assembled at Stans to settle
their differences, and civil war seemed inevitable, Henry
Imgrund, the pastor of Stans, hastened to Nicholas, begging him
to prevent the shedding of blood. The priest returned to the
delegates with the hermit's counsels and propositions, and civil
war was averted. Nicholas was beatified by Pope Clement IX in
1669. Numerous pilgrims visit the chapel near the church of
Sachseln, where his relics are preserved. His feast is
celebrated on 21 March.
MING, Der selige Nicolaus von Flüe, sein Leben und Wirken (4
vols., Lucerne, l861-78); VON AH, Des seligen Einsiedlers
Nikolaus von Flue wunderbares Leben (Einsiedeln, l887);
BAUMBERGER, Der sel. Nikolaus von Flüe (Kempten and Munich,
1906); Acta SS., III, March, 398-439 WETZEL, Der sel. Nikolaus
von Flüe (Einsiedeln, l887; Ravensburg, l896) tr. into Italian,
MONDADA (Turin, 1888); DE BELLOC, Le bienheureux Nicolas de Flüe
et la Suisse d'autrefois (Paris, 1889); BLAKE, A hero of the
Swiss Republic in The Catholic World, LXV (New York, 1897),
658-673.
MICHAEL OTT
Nicholas of Gorran
Nicholas of Gorran
(Or GORRAIN)
Medieval preacher, and scriptural commentator; b. in 1232 at
Gorron, France; d. about 1295. He entered the Dominican Order in
the convent of his native town and became one of its most
illustrious alumni. His talents singled him out for special
educational opportunities, and he was sent accordingly to the
famous convent of St. James in Paris. In this convent he
subsequently served several terms as prior. His piety and sound
judgment attracted the attention of Philip IV of France, whom he
served in the double capacity of confessor and adviser. In most
of his ecclesiastical studies he does not seem to have excelled
notably; but in preaching and in the interpretation of the
Scriptures he was unsurpassed by any of his contemporaries. His
scriptural writings treat of all the books of the Old and the
New Testament, and possess more than ordinary merit. Indeed, in
such high esteem were they held by the doctors of the University
of Paris that the latter were wont to designate their author as
excellens postulator. The commentaries on the Books of
Ecclesiastes, Ezechiel, and Daniel, while generally attributed
to Nicholas of Gorran, have at times been ascribed to a
different authorship. His commentary on the Epistles of St. Paul
is remarkably well done, and his gloss on the Apocalypse was
deemed worthy of the highest commendation. Besides his
Scriptural writings he commented on the Lombard's Book of
Sentences and on the Book of Distinctions. His commentaries on
the Gospels were published in folio at Cologne (1573) by Peter
Quentel; and at Antwerp (1617) by John Keerberg. His
commentaries on the Epistles of St. Paul were published at
Cologne (1478); Hagenau (1502); Paris (1521); Antwerp (1617).
QUETIF-ECHARD, SS. Ord. Praed., I; LAJARD, Histoire litt. de
France, XX (Paris, 1842), 324-56; DENIFLE AND CHATELAIN,
Chartularium Univ. Parisian., II (Paris, 1891).
JOHN B. O'CONNOR
Nicholas of Lyra
Nicholas of Lyra
( Doctor planus et utilis)
Exegete, b. at Lyra in Normandy, 1270; d. at Paris, 1340. The
report that he was of Jewish descent dates only from the
fifteenth century. He took the Franciscan habit at Verneuil,
studied theology, received the doctor's degree in Paris and was
appointed professor at the Sorbonne. In the famous controversy
on the Beatific Vision he took sides with the professors against
John XXII. He labored very successfully, both in preaching and
writing, for the conversion of the Jews. He is the author of
numerous theological works, some of which are yet unpublished.
It was to exegesis that Nicholas of Lyra devoted his best years.
In the second prologue to his monumental work, "Postillae
perpetuae in universam S. Scripturam", after stating that the
literal sense of Sacred Scripture is the foundation of all
mystical expositions, and that it alone has demonstrative force,
as St. Augustine teaches, he deplores the state of Biblical
studies in his time. The literal sense, he avers, is much
obscured, owing partly to the carelessness of the copyists,
partly to the unskillfulness of some of the correctors, and
partly also to our own translation (the Vulgate), which not
infrequently departs from the original Hebrew. He holds with St.
Jerome that the text must be corrected from the Hebrew codices,
except of course the prophecies concerning the Divinity of
Christ. Another reason for this obscurity, Nicholas goes on to
say, is the attachment of scholars to the method of
interpretation handed down by others who, though they have said
many things well, have yet touched but sparingly on the literal
sense, and have so multiplied the mystical senses as nearly to
intercept and choke it. Moreover, the text has been distorted by
a multiplicity of arbitrary divisions and concordances. Hereupon
he declares his intention of insisting, in the present work,
upon the literal sense and of interspersing only a few mystical
interpretations. Nicholas utilized all available sources, fully
mastered the Hebrew and drew copiously from the valuable
commentaries of the Jewish exegetes, especially of the
celebrated Talmudist Rashi. The "Pugio Fidei" of Raymond Martini
and the commentaries of St. Thomas Aquinas were laid under
contribution. His exposition is lucid and concise; his
observations are judicious and sound, and always original. The
"Postillae" soon became the favourite manual of exegesis. It was
the first Biblical commentary printed. The solid learning of
Nicholas commanded the respect of both Jews and Christians.
Luther owes much to Nicholas of Lyra, but how widely the
principles of Nicholas differed essentially from Luther's views
is best seen from Nicholas's own words. "I protest that I do not
intend to assert or determine anything that has not been
manifestly determined by Sacred Scripture or by the authority of
the Church . . . . Wherefore I submit all I have said or shall
say to the correction of Holy Mother Church and of all learned
men . . . "(Prol. secund. in Postillas., ed. 1498). Nicholas
taught no new doctrine. The early Fathers and the great
schoolmen had repeatedly laid down the same sound exegetical
principles, but, owing to adverse tendencies of the times, their
efforts had partly failed. Nicholas carried out these principles
effectively, and in this lies his chief merit -- one which ranks
him among the foremost exegetes of all times.
WADDING, Annales (Rome, 1733), V, 264 7; VI, 237 9; IDEM,
Scriptores (Rome, 1906), s. v., SBARALEA, Supplementum (Rome
1806), s. v.; FABRICIUS, Bibl. lat. et inf. latinitatis V
(Hamburg, 1736), 114 sqq.; HAIN, Repertorium. bibl. (Paris,
1826-38), s. v.; COPINGER, Supplement to Hain's Repert. bibl.
(London, 1895-1902), s. v.; DENIFLE AND CHATELAIN, Chartul.
Universit. Paris, II (Paris, 1891), passim; FERET, La faculte de
theol. de Paris et ses docteurs les plus celebres, III (Paris,
1894-96), 331-9; SIMON, Hist. crit. des commentaires d. V. T.
(Rotterdam, 1683); IDEM, Hist. crit. des princip. commentateurs
d. N. T. (Rotterdam, 1693); BERGER, Quam notitiam linguae hebr.
habuerunt Christiani med. aevi in Gallia (Nancy, 1893); CORNELY,
Hist. et crit. Introd. in utr. Test. libros sacros, I (Paris,
1885), 660-2; GIGOT, Gen. Introd. to the study of the Scriptures
(New York), 444 sq.; NEUMANN, Influence de Rachi et d'autres
commentateurs juifs sur les postilles de Lyra in Revue des
etudes juives, XXVI (1893), 172 sqq.; XXVII (1893), 230 sqq.;
MASCHKOWSKI, Raschis Einfluss auf N. v. L. in d. Ausleg. d.
Exodus in Zeitschr. f. alttestam. Wissenschaft, XI (1891), 268
sqq.; LABROSSE, Biogr. et aeuvres de N. v. L. in Etues
franciscaines XVI (1906), 383 sqq.; XVII (1907), 489 sqq., 593
sqq.; XIX (1908), 41 sqq., 153 sqq., 368 sqq.; BIHL, Hat N. v.
L. in Erfurt dosierti in Zeitschr. d. Vereins f. thuring. Gesch.
u. Altertum., XXVI (1908), 329 sqq.; see also a paper on
Nicholas of Lyra by MARCHAL in Annuaire de.l'universite cath. de
Louvain (1910), 432 sq.
THOMAS PLASSMANN
St. Nicholas of Myra
St. Nicholas of Myra
( Also called NICHOLAS OF BARI).
Bishop of Myra in Lycia; died 6 December, 345 or 352. Though he
is one of the most popular saints in the Greek as well as the
Latin Church, there is scarcely anything historically certain
about him except that he was Bishop of Myra in the fourth
century.
Some of the main points in his legend are as follows: He was
born at Parara, a city of Lycia in Asia Minor; in his youth he
made a pilgrimage to Egypt and Palestine; shortly after his
return he became Bishop of Myra; cast into prison during the
persecution of Diocletian, he was released after the accession
of Constantine, and was present at the Council of Nicaea. In
1087 Italian merchants stole his body at Myra, bringing it to
Bari in Italy.
The numerous miracles St. Nicholas is said to have wrought, both
before and after his death, are outgrowths of a long tradition.
There is reason to doubt his presence at Nicaea, since his name
is not mentioned in any of the old lists of bishops that
attended this council. His cult in the Greek Church is old and
especially popular in Russia. As early as the sixth century
Emperor Justinian I built a church in his honour at
Constantinople, and his name occurs in the liturgy ascribed to
St. Chrysostom. In Italy his cult seems to have begun with the
translation of his relics to Bari, but in Germany it began
already under Otto II, probably because his wife Theophano was a
Grecian. Bishop Reginald of Eichstaedt (d. 991) is known to have
written a metric, "Vita S. Nicholai." The course of centuries
has not lessened his popularity. The following places honour him
as patron: Greece, Russia, the Kingdom of Naples, Sicily,
Lorraine, the Diocese of Liège; many cities in Italy, Germany,
Austria, and Belgium; Campen in the Netherlands; Corfu in
Greece; Freiburg in Switzerland; and Moscow in Russia. He is
patron of mariners, merchants, bakers, travellers, children,
etc. His representations in art are as various as his alleged
miracles. In Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, they
have the custom of making him the secret purveyor of gifts to
children on 6 December, the day on which the Church celebrates
his feast; in the United States and some other countries St.
Nicholas has become identified with Santa Claus who distributes
gifts to children on Christmas eve. His relics are still
preserved in the church of San Nicola in Bari; up to the present
day an oily substance, known as Manna di S. Nicola, which is
highly valued for its medicinal powers, is said to flow from
them.
The traditional legends of St. Nicholas were first collected and
written in Greek by Metaphrastes in the tenth century. They are
printed in P.G. 116 sq.
MICHAEL OTT
Nicholas of Osimo
Nicholas of Osimo
(AUXIMANUS).
A celebrated preacher and author, b. at Osimo, Italy, in the
second half of the fourteenth century; d. at Rome, 1453. After
having studied law, and taken the degree of doctor at Bologna,
he joined the Friars Minor of the Observants in the convent of
San Paolo. Conspicuous for zeal, learning, and preaching, as
companion of St. James of the Marches in Bosnia, and as
Vicar-Provincial of Apulia (1439), Nicholas greatly contributed
to the prosperity of the Observants for whom (1440) he obtained
complete independence from the Conventuals, a privilege shortly
after revoked according to the desire of St. Bernardine. He was
also appointed Visitator and afterwards Superior, of the holy
land, but many difficulties seem to have hindered him from the
discharge of these offices. Nicholas wrote both in Latin and
Italian a number of treatises on moral theology, the spiritual
life, and on the Rule of St. Francis. We mention the following:
(1) "Supplementum Summae Magistratiae seu Pisanellae," a revised
and increased edition of the "Summa" of Bartholomew of San
Concordio (or of Pisa), O.P., completed at Milan, 1444, with
many editions before the end of the fifteenth century: Venice,
1473 sqq.; Genoa, 1474; Milan, 1479; Reutlingen, 1483;
Nuremberg, 1494. (2) "Quadriga Spirituale," in Italian, treats
in a popular way what the author considers the four principal
means of salvation, viz. faith, good works, confession, and
prayer. These are like the four wheels of a chariot, whence the
name. The work was printed at Jesi, 1475, and under the name of
St. Bernardine of Siena in 1494.
WADDING, Scriptores Ord. Min. (Rome, 1806), 179 (Rome, 1906),
176; IDEM, Annales Minorum ad an. 1427, n. 13-16, 2nd ed., X
(Rome, 1734), 119-30; ad an. 1438, n. 21-23, XI (Rome, 1734),
39-46; ad an. 1440, n. 29, XI (Rome, 1734), 111 passim;
SBARALEA, Supplementum (Rome, 1806), 550; SPEZI, Tre Operette
volgari di Frate Niccolo da Osimo, testi di lingua inediti
tratti da' codici Vaticani (Rome, 1865), preface; LUIGI DA
FABRIANO, Cenni cronologico-biografici della Osservante
Provincia Picena (Quaracchi, 1886), 161, 221; HAIN, Repertorium
Bibliographicum (paris, 1826), I, i, n. 2149-75; VON SCHULTE,
Die Geschichte der Quellen und Literatur des Canonischen Rechtes
von Gratian bis auf die Gegenwart, I (Stuttgart, 1877), 435-37;
DIETTERLE, Die Summae Confessorum in Zeitschrift fur
Kirchengeschichte, ed. BRIEGER, XXVII (Gotha, 1906), 183-88.
LIVARIUS OLIGER
Nicholas of Strasburg
Nicholas of Strasburg
Mystic; flourished early in the fourteenth century. Educated at
Paris, he was later on lector at the Dominican convent, Cologne.
Appointed by John XXII, he made a canonical visitation of the
German Dominican province, where great discord prevailed.
Relying on two papal briefs dated 1 August, 1325, it appears
that the sole commission received from the pontiff was to reform
the province in its head and members, and to act as visitor to
the sisters. Nicholas, however, assumed the office of inquisitor
as well, and closed a process already begun by Archbishop
Heinrich (Cologne) against Master Eckhart, O.P., for his
teachings on mysticism, in favor of the latter (1326). In
January, 1327, the archbishop renewed the cause and arraigned
Nicholas as a patron of his confrere's errors. Almost
simultaneously, Hermann von Höchst, a discontented religious on
whom Nicholas had imposed a well-merited penalty, took revenge
by having him excommunicated. Nicholas, however, was soon
released from this sentence by Pope John, that he might appear
as definitor at the general chapter of his order convened at
Perpignan, May 31, 1327. He is last heard of after the
settlement of the process against Eckhart as vicar of the German
Dominicans, 1329. Thirteen extant sermons show him to have been
of a rather practical turn of mind.
Having realized the inherent necessity of solid piety being
based upon the principles of sound theology, he urges in clear,
pregnant, and forceful style the sacred importance of good
works, penitential practices and indulgences, confession and the
Holy Eucharist. Only by the use of these means can the love of
God be well regulated and that perfect conversion of the heart
attained which is indispensable for a complete remission of
guilt. Built up on so firm a groundwork, there is nothing to
censure but much to commend in his allegorical interpretations
of Sacred Scripture, which are otherwise consistent with his
fondness for parable and animated illustration. "De Adventu
Christi", formerly attributed to Nicholas, came originally from
the pen of John of Paris.
PREGER, Meister Eckhart und die Inquisition (Munich, 1869);
IDEM, Gesch. der deutsch. Mystik im Mittelalter, II (Leipzig,
1881); DENIFLE, Actenstucke zu Meister Eckharts Prozess in
Zeitschr. f. deutsches Altertum u. deutsche Literatur, XXIX
(XVII) (1885); IDEM, Der Plagiator, Nich. von Strassb. in.
Archiv f. Lit. u. Kirchengesch., IV (1888); PFEIFFER, Deutsche
Mystiker des 14, Jahrh., I (Leipzig, 1845).
THOS. A.K. REILLY
St. Nicholas of Tolentino
St. Nicholas of Tolentino
Born at Sant' Angelo, near Fermo, in the March of Ancona, about
1246; d. 10 September, 1306. He is depicted in the black habit
of the Hermits of St. Augustine -- a star above him or on his
breast, a lily, or a crucifix garlanded with lilies, in his
hand. Sometimes, instead of the lily, he holds a vial filled
with money or bread. His parents, said to have been called
Compagnonus de Guarutti and Amata de Guidiani (these surnames
may merely indicate their birth-places), were pious folk,
perhaps gentle born, living content with a small substance.
Nicholas was born in response to prayers, his mother a model of
holiness. He excelled so much in his studies that even before
they were over he was made a canon of St. Saviour's church; but
hearing a sermon by a hermit of St. Augustine upon the text:
"Nolite diligere mundum, nec ea quae sunt in mundo, quia mundus
transit et concupiscentia ejus", he felt a call to embrace the
religious life. He besought the hermit for admittance into his
order. His parents gave a joyful consent. Even before his
ordination he was sent to different monasteries of his order, at
Recanati, Macerata etc., as a model of generous striving after
perfection. He made his profession before he was nineteen. After
his ordination he preached with wonderful success, notably at
Tolentino, where he spent his last thirty years and gave a
discourse nearly every day. Towards the end diseases tried his
patience, but he kept up his mortifications almost to the hour
of death. He possessed an angelic meekness, a guileless
simplicity, and a tender love of virginity, which he never
stained, guarding it by prayer and extraordinary mortifications.
He was canonized by Eugene IV in 1446; his feast is celebrated
on 10 September. His tomb, at Tolentino, is held in veneration
by the faithful.
Acta SS., Sept. III, 636; BUTLER, Lives of the Saints, III
(Baltimore), 440; HAGELE in Kirchenlex., s.v.
EDWARD F. GARESCHE
St. Nicholas Pieck
St. Nicholas Pieck
(Also spelled PICK).
Friar Minor and martyr, b. at Gorkum, Holland, 29 August, 1534;
d. at Briel, Holland, 9 July, 1572. He came of an old and
honourable family. His parents, John Pieck and Henriea Clavia,
were deeply attached to the Catholic faith, and the former on
several occasions distinguished himself by his zeal against the
innovations of Calvinism. Nicholas was sent to college at
Bois-le-Duc ('S Hertogenbosch), and as soon as he had completed
his classical studies he received the habit of the Friars Minor
at the convent in that town. After his profession he was sent to
the convent at Louvain to follow the course of study at the
celebrated university there. Nicholas was ordained priest in
1558 and thenceforth devoted himself to the apostolic ministry.
He evangelized the principal towns of Holland and Belgium,
combating heresy everywhere, strengthening Catholics in their
faith, and distinguishing himself by his singular humility,
modesty, charity, and zeal for the honour of God and the
salvation of souls. He was of an open disposition, gay and
genial, and his whole bearing inspired affection and respect.
His superiors, appreciating his fine qualities, appointed him
guardian of the convent at Gorkum, his native town.
When this place was threatened by the Calvinists, Nicholas
delivered several discourses to his fellow townsmen, forewarning
them against the dangerous errors of Calvinism. In particular,
he proved by unanswerable arguments the dogma of the Real
Presence, showing it to be a marvellous extension of the
Incarnation, and he left nothing undone to bring his two
brothers back to the true fold. When the citadel of Gorkum ws
taken by the Watergeuzen, the heretics detained the priests and
religious, and confined them in a dark and foul dungeon. (See
GORKUM, THE MARTYRS OF.) During the first night the Calvinists
vented their rage particularly against Nicholas. Tying about his
neck the cord which girded his loins, they first suspended him
from a beam and then let him fall heavily to the ground. This
torture was prolonged till the cord broke, and the martyr,
seemingly lifeless, fell to the floor. They then applied a
burning torch to his ears, forehead, and chin, and forced open
his mouth to burn his tongue and palate, either to find out
whether he was still alive or in order to torture him.
Meanwhile, the two brothers of Nicholas were busy taking steps
to obtain the deliverance of the captives. This was promised
them only on condition that the prisoners would renounce the
authority of the pope, and, as nothing could make Nicholas and
his companions waver in their faith, they were taken to Briel,
where they all gained the crown of martyrdom. Nicholas and his
companions were beatified by Clement X, 24 November, 1675, and
canonized by Pius IX, 29 June, 1867.
CLARY, Lives of the Saints and Blessed of the Three Orders of
Saint Francis, II (Taunton, 1886), 457-65; SEDULIUS, Historia
Seraphica (Antwerp, 1613), 671 sq.; SCHOUTENS, Martyrologium
Minoritico-Belgicum (Antwerp, 1901), 114-115; ESTIUS, Historiae
Martyrum Gorcomiensium in Acta SS., II, July (ed. 1867),
804-808; WADDING, Annales Minorum, XX, 381-418. (For further
bibliography see GORKUM, THE MARTYRS OF.)
FERDINAND HECKMANN
Ven. George Nichols
Ven. George Nichols
(Or NICOLLS).
English martyr, born at Oxford about 1550; executed at Oxford,
19 October, 1589. He entered Brasenose College in 1564 or 1565,
and was readmitted 20 August, 1567, and supplicated for his B.A.
degree in 1570-1. He subsequently became an usher at St. Paul's
School, London. He arrived at Reims with Thomas Pilehard (q.v.),
20 Nov., 1581; but went on to Rome, whence he returned 21 July,
1582. Ordained subdeacon and deacon at Laon (probably by Bishop
Valentine Douglas, O.S.B.) in April, 1583, and priest at Reims
by Cardinal Archbishop Louis de Guise) 24 Sept., he was sent on
the mission the same year. Having converted many, notably a
convicted highwayman in Oxford Castle, he was arrested at the
Catherine Wheel Inn, opposite the east end of St. Mary
Magdalen's Church, Oxford, together with Humphrey Prichard, a
Welsh servant at the inn, Thomas Belson (q.v.), and Richard
Yaxley. This last was a son (probably the third, certainly not
the sixth) of William Yaxley of Boston, Lincolnshire, by Rose,
daughter of John Langton of Northolme. Arriving at Reims 29
August, 1582, he received the tonsure and minor orders 23 Sept.,
1583, and the subdiaconate 5 or 6 April, 1585, from the cardinal
archbishop. Probably the same hand conferred the diaconate on 20
April. The priesthood was conferred at Reims by Louis de Breze,
Bishop of Meaux, 21 Sept., 1585. Yaxley left Reims for England
28 January, 1585-86. All four prisoners were sent from Oxford to
the Bridewell prison in London, where the two priests were
hanged up for five hours to make them betray their hosts, but
without avail. Yaxley was sent to the Tower as a close prisoner
25 May, 1589, and appears to have been racked frequently. Belson
was sent to the Gatehouse. The other two remained in Bridewell,
Nichols being put into a deep dungeon full of venomous vermin .
On 30 June all four were ordered back to Oxford to take their
trial. All were condemned, the priests for treason, the laymen
for felony. Nichols suffered first, then Yaxley, then Belson,
and last Prichard. The priests heads were set up on the castle,
and their quarters on the four city gates.
CHALLONER, Memoirs of Missionary Priests, I. Nos, 73-75; POLLEN,
Catholic Record Society, V. (London, 1908), passim; DASENT, Acts
of the Privy Council, XVII (London, 1890- 1907), 203, 329; KNOX,
First and Second Diaries of English College, Douai (London,
1878), passim; Harleian Society Publications, I, II (London,
1904), 1124; Oxford Historical Society Publications, XXXIX
(Oxford, 1899), 109, 110; LV (Oxford, 1910), 33.
JOHN B. WAINEWRIGHT
Francis Nicholson
Francis Nicholson
A controversial writer; b. at Manchester, 1650 (baptized 27
Oct.); d. at Lisbon, 13 Aug., 1731. The son of Henry or Thomas
Nicholson, a Manchester citizen, when sixteen he entered
University College, Oxford, as a servitor, and took his degrees
as Bachelor of Arts (18 June, 1669) and Master of Arts (4 June,
1673). Ordained an Anglican clergyman, he officiated, first
about Oxford, afterwards near Canterbury, where he gained some
success in reconciling Nonconformists to the Church of England.
A sermon preached at St. Mary's, Oxford, on 20 June, 1680, led
to his being charged with unorthodox doctrine and the fact that
he had been a pupil of Obadiah Walker caused him to be suspected
of Catholic tendencies. The actual date of his reception into
the Church is unknown, but during the reign of James II
(1685-88) he was a professed Catholic and busied himself in the
king's interests. At this time he wrote the appendix on the
doctrine of the Church of England concerning the Real Presence,
and the "Vindication of two recent discourses" on the same
subject, added to Abraham Woodhead's "Compendious Discourse on
the Eucharist", published in 1688. After the revolution he
joined the Carthusians at Nieuport in Flanders, but his health
was unequal to this austere life, and in 1699 he returned to
England. There he entered the service of the Queen Dowager,
Catharine of Braganza, whom he accompanied back to Portugal. For
some years he resided at the Portuguese Court and then retired
to an estate which he had bought at Pera, half a league south of
the Tagus, and not, as the writer in the "Dictionary of National
Biography" oddly asserts, the "suburb of Constantinople". He
spent a: considerable period there in devotion and study, until
reaching his seventieth year he made over all his real and
personal property to the English College at Lisbon, subject to
the discharge of his debts, the provision of board and lodging
for the remainder of his life, and a small annuity. Three years
before his death at the college he sent back to the Catholic
antiquary, Dr. Cuthbert Constable, all the surviving MSS. of
Abraham Woodhead, which had passed into his hands as executor of
Obadiah Walker. With them also he sent his MS. life of
Constable, published with additions in his edition of that
author's "Third Part of a Brief Account of Church Government".
ANTHONY À WOOD, Athenae Oxonienses, II, reprinted from DODD,
Church History, III, 462; Catholic Magazine, VI (May, 1835),
208; FOSTER, Alumni Oxonienses (Oxford, 1891); GILLOW, Bibl.
Dict. Eng. Cath., s. v. Nicholson and Constable; SUTTON in Dict.
Nat. Biog.; CROFT, Kirk's Historical Account of Lisbon College
(London, 1902).
EDWIN BURTON
Nicodemus
Nicodemus
A prominent Jew of the time of Christ, mentioned only in the
Fourth Gospel. The name is of Greek origin, but at that epoch
such names were occasionally borrowed by the Jews, and according
to Josephus (Ant. of the Jews, XIV, iii, 2) Nicodemus was the
name of one of the ambassadors sent by Aristobulus to Pompey. A
Hebrew form of the name (Naqdimon) is found in the Talmud.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, and in his capacity of sanhedrist,
(John, vii, 50) was a leader of the Jews. Christ, in the
interview when Nicodemus came to him by night, calls him a
master in Israel. Judging from John xix, 39, Nicodemus must have
been a man of means, and it is probable that he wielded a
certain influence in the Sanhedrim. Some writers conjecture from
his question: "How can a man be born when he is old?", that he
was already advanced in years, but the words are too general to
warrant such a conclusion. He appears in this interview as a
learned and intelligent believer, but timid and not easily
initiated into the mysteries of the new faith. He next appears
(John, vii, 50, 51) in the Sanhedrim offering a word in defence
of the accused Galilean; and we may infer from this passage that
he embraced the truth as soon as it was fully made known to him.
He is mentioned finally in John, xix, 39, where he is shown
co-operating with Joseph of Arimathea in the embalming and
burial of Jesus. His name occurs later in some of the apocryphal
writings, e.g. in the so-called "Acta Pilati", heterogeneous
document which in the sixteen century was published under the
title "Evangelium Nicodemi" (Gospel of Nicodemus). The time of
his death is unknown. The Roman Martyrology commemorates the
finding of his relics, together with those of Sts. Stephen,
Gamaliel, and Abibo, on 3 August.
Conybeare, Studia Biblica, IV (Oxford, 1896), 59-132; Le Camus,
La vie de N.-S. Jesus-Christ (Paris, 1883), I, 251 sqq.; II, 24
sqq., 577 sqq., tr. Hickey (3 vols., New York, 1906-08).
JAMES F. DRISCOLL
Jean Nicolai
Jean Nicolaï
Celebrated Dominican theologian and controversialist, b. in 1594
at Mouzay in the Diocese of Verdun, France; d. 7 May, 1673, at
Paris. Entering the order at the age of twelve, he made his
religious profession in 1612, studied philosophy and theology in
the convent of St. James at Paris, obtained (1632) the doctorate
in theology at the Sorbonne, and taught these branches with
distinction in various houses of the order. He was highly
esteemed for strict observance of the rule, prudence, rare
erudition, and power of penetration. Besides Latin and Greek he
was conversant with Italian, Spanish, and Hebrew. He was a
member of the commission appointed to examine the works and
teachings of the Jansenists and to prevent the further
dissemination of their doctrine in the Sorbonne. In the disputes
on grace between the Thomists and Molinists, which the teaching
of Jansenius revived, he adhered strictly to the Thomistic
doctrine. His numerous works fall into three classes: (a) new
editions of older theologians which he supplied with
commentaries and explanatory notes; (b) his own theological
works; (c) his poetical and political writings. The most
important of the first class are "Raineri de Pisis [1351] ord.
Fr. Praed. Pantheologia sive universa theologia ordine
alphabetico per varios titulos distributa" (Lyons, 1670): to
each of the three volumes of this work he added a dissertation
against the Jansenists; "S. Thomae Aq. Expositio continua super
quatuor evangelistas" (Lyons, 1670); " S. Thomae Aq. commentaria
in quatuor libros sententiarum P. Lombardi" (Lyons, 1659);
"Commentarius posterior super libros sententiarum" (Lyons,
1660); "S. Thomae Aq. quaestiones quodlibetales" (Lyons, 1660);
"S.Thomcae Aq. Summa theologica innumeris Patrum, Conciliorum,
scripturarum ac decretorum testimoniis ad materias controversas
vel ad moralem disciplinam pertinentibus. . . illustrata"
(Lyons, 1663); "S. Thomae Aq. explanatio in omnes d. Pauli Ap.
epistolas commentaria" (Lyons, 1689). His important theological
works are: "Judicium seu censorium suffragium de propositione
Ant. Arnaldi sorbonici doctoris et socii ad quaestionem juris
pertinente" (Paris, 1656); "Theses theologicae de gratia seu
theses molinisticae thomisticis notis expunctae" (Paris, 1656);
"Apologia naturae et gratiae" (Bordeaux, 1665). Against Launoy,
the champion of the "Gallican Liberties", he wrote: "De jejunii
christiani et christianiae abstinentiae vero ac legitimo ritu"
(Paris, 1667); "De Concilio plenario, quod contra Donatistas
baptismi quaestionem ex Augustini sensu definivit" (Paris,
1667); "De plenarii Concilii et baptismatis hereticorum
assertione dissertatio posterior anteriorem firmans" (Paris,
1668); "De baptismi antiquo usu ab Ecclesia instituto,
dissertatio" (Paris, 1668); "De Constantini baptismo, ubi,
quando et a quibus fuerit celebratus historica dissertatio"
(Paris, 1680). The purpose of his poetical and political
writings seems to have been to extol the dignity and glory of
France and her kings. Thus, he delivered in Rome in 1628 a
panegyric in honour of the victory of Louis XIII at La Rochelle
and in 1661 composed a poem in honour of the son of Louis XIV.
He was highly esteemed at the royal court and received a pension
of 600 francs. He was buried in the chapel of the convent of St.
James in Paris, and a marble stone beside the grave bears a long
inscription recounting his virtues, his learning, and his
services to his country.
QUETIF-ECHARD, SS. Ord. Praed., II, 647; Journal des Savants,
II, 340, 482.
JOSEPH SCHROEDER
Nicolaites Or Nicolaitans
Nicolaites
(Also called Nicolaitans), a sect mentioned in the Apocalypse
(ii,6,15) as existing in Ephesus, Pergamus, and other cities of
Asia Minor, about the character and existence of which there is
little certainty. Irenaeus (Adv. haer., I, xxvi, 3; III, xi, 1)
discusses them but adds nothing to the Apocalypse except that
"they lead lives of unrestrained indulgence." Tertullian refers
to them, but apparently knows only what is found in St. John (De
Praescrip. xxxiii; Adv. Marc., I, xxix; De Pud., xvii).
Hippolytus based his narrative on Irenaeus, though he states
that the deacon Nicholas was the author of the heresy and the
sect (Philosph., VII, xxvi). Clement of Alexandria (Strom., III,
iv) exonerates Nicholas, and attributes the doctrine of
promiscuity, which the sect claimed to have derived from him, to
a malicious distortion of words harmless in themselves. With the
exception of the statement in Eusebius (H. E., III, xxix) that
the sect was short-lived, none of the references in Epiphanius,
Theodoret etc. deserve mention, as they are taken from Irenaeus.
The common statement, that the Nicolaites held the antinomian
heresy of Corinth, has not been proved. Another opinion,
favoured by a number of authors, is that, because of the
allegorical character of the Apocalypse, the reference to the
Nicolaitans is merely a symbolic manner of reference, based on
the identical meaning of the names, to the Bileamites or
Balaamites (Apoc., ii, 14) who are mentioned just before them as
professing the same doctrines.
P.J. HEALY
Armella Nicolas
Armella Nicolas
Popularly known as "La bonne Armelle", a saintly French
serving-maid held in high veneration among the people, though
never canonized by the Church, b. at Campeneac in Brittanny, 9
September, 1606, of poor peasants, George Nicolas and Francisca
Neant; d. 24 October, 1671. Her early years were spent in the
pious, simple life of the hard-working country folk. When she
was twenty-two years of age her parents wished her to marry, but
she chose rather to enter service in the neighboring town of
Ploermel, where she found more opportunity for her pious works
and for satisfying her spiritual needs. After a few years she
went to the larger town of Vannes, where she served in several
families, and for a year and a half was portress at the Ursuline
monastery. She here formed a special friendship with a certain
sister, Jeanne de la Nativite, to whom she told from time to
time many details of her spiritual life, and who noted down
these communications, and afterwards wrote the life of Armella,
who could herself neither read nor write. Even the lowly work at
the convent did not satisfy her craving for toil and
humiliation, and she returned to one of her former employers,
where she remained to the end of her life. To her severe trials
and temptations she added many works of penance and was rewarded
by the growth of her inner life and her intimate union with God.
During the last years of her life a broken leg caused her great
suffering, patiently borne. Many recommended themselves to her
prayers and her death-bed was surrounded by a great number of
persons who held her in special veneration. Her heart was
preserved in the Jesuit church, and her body was buried in the
church of the Ursulines. Near her grave was erected a tablet to
"La bonne Armelle"; her tomb is a place of pilgrimage. Armella
has been claimed, but without good grounds, as an exponent of
Quietism. If some of her expressions seemed tinged with Quietist
thought, it is because the controversy which cleared and defined
many notions concerning Quietism had not yet arisen. On the
other hand her simple, laborious life and practical piety make
any such aberrations very unlikely.
JUNGMANN in Kirchenlexikon, s. v. Nicolas; STOLTZ, Legende der
Heiligen, 24 October; BUSSON, Vie d'Armelle Nicolas etc. (Paris,
1844); TERSTEEGEN, Select Lives of Holy Souls, I, 2nd ed.
(1754).
EDWARD F. GARESCHE
Auguste Nicolas
Auguste Nicolas
French apologist, b. at Bordeaux, 6 Jan., 1807; d. at Versailles
18 Jan., 1888. He first studied law, was admitted as an advocate
and entered the magistracy. From 1841-49 he was justice of the
peace at Bordeaux; as early as 1842 he began the publication of
his apologetical writings which soon made his name known among
Catholics. When in 1849 M. de Falloux became minister of public
worship he summoned Nicolas to assist him as head of the
department for the administration of the temporal interests of
ecclesiastical districts. He held this office until 1854 when he
became general inspector of libraries. In 1860 he was appointed
judge of' the tribunal of the Seine and finally councillor at
the Paris court of appeals.
Nicolas employed his leisure and later his retirement to write
works in defense of Christianity taken as a whole or in its most
important dogmas. He showed his accurate conception of
apologetics by adapting them to the dispositions and the needs
of the minds of his time, but he lived in a period when
Traditionalism still dominated many French Catholics, and this
is reflected in his works. He aimed no doubt at defending
religion by means of philosophy, good sense, and arguments from
authority; but he also often appeals to the traditions and the
groping moral sense of man-kind at large. The testimonies,
however, which he cites, are often apocryphal and frequently
also he interprets them uncritically and ascribes to them a
meaning or a scope which they do not possess. Besides, his
apologetics speedily grew out-of-date when ecclesiastical and
critical studies were revived in France and elsewhere. His
writings also betray at times the layman lacking in the learning
and precision of the theologian, and some of his books were in
danger of being placed on the Index. Some bishops, however,
among them Cardinals Donnet and Pie, intervened in his behalf
and certified to the uprightness of his intentions. Otherwise
the author addressed himself to the general public and
especially to the middle classes which were still penetrated
with Voltairian incredulity, and he succeeded in reaching them.
His books were very successful in France and some of them even
in Germany, where they were translated. Among his works may be
mentioned: "Etudes philosophiques sur le Christianisme" (Paris,
1841-45), a philosophical apology for the chief Christian
dogmas, which reached a twenty-sixth edition before the death of
the author; "La Vierge Marie et le plan divin, nouvelles études
philosophiques sur le Christianisme" (4 vols., Paris, 1852,
1853, 1861), in which is explained the ro1e of the Blessed
Virgin in the plan of Redemption, and which was translated into
German, and reached the eighth edition during the author's
lifetime; "Du protestantisme et de toutes les hérésies dans leur
rapport avec le socialisme" (Paris, 1852, 2 vols., 8 editions),
"L'Art de croire,ou préparation philosophique au Christianisme"
(Paris, 1866-67), translated into German; "La Divinité de Jéésus
Christ, démonstration nouvelle" (1864); "Jésus Christ
introduction à l'Evangile étudié et medité à l'usage des temps
nouveaux" (Paris, 1875). As semi-religious and semi-political
may be mentioned: "La Monarchie et la question du drapeau"
(Paris, 1873); "La Révolution et l'orde chrétien" (Paris, 1874);
"L'Etat contre Dieu" (Paris, 1879); "Rome et la Papauté" (Paris,
1883); and finally the works in historico-philosophic vein:
"Etude sur Maine de Biran" (Paris, 1858); "Etude sur Eugénie de
Guérin" (Paris, 1863); "Mémoires d'un père sur la vie et la mort
de son fils" (Paris, 1869); "Etude historique et critique sur le
Père Lacordaire" (Toulouse, 1886).
LAPEYRE, Auguste Nicolas, sa vie et ses aeuvres d'apres ses
Memoires inedits, ses papiers et sa correspondance (Paris,
1892).
ANTOINE DEGERT
Nicolaus Germanus
Nicolaus Germanus
(Often called "Donis" from a misapprehension of the title
"Donnus" or "Donus" an abbreviated form of "Dominus").
A fifteenth-century cartographer, place of birth, and date of
birth and death unknown. The first allusion to him of authentic
date is an injunction of Duke Borso d'Este (15 March, 1466) to
his referendary and privy counselor, Ludovico Casella, at
Ferrara, to have the "Cosmographia of Don Nicolò" thoroughly
examined and then to determine a recompense for it. The duke, on
the thirtieth of the same month, called upon his treasurers for
100 florins in gold "to remit as a mark of his appreciation to
Donnus Nicolaus Germanus for his excellent book entitled
'Cosmographia'". On 8 April, 1466, the duke again drew thirty
golden florins to present to the Rev. Nicolaus, who "in addition
to that excellent Cosmography" (ultra illud excellens
Cosmographie opus) had dedicated to the duke a calendar made to
cover many years to come ("librum tacuini multorum annorum").
The "Cosmographia" as preserved in the Bibliotheca Estensis at
Modena comprises a Latin translation of the Geography of Ptolemy
with maps. The version of the geographical text is substantially
the same as that dedicated in 1410 to Pope Alexander V by Jacopo
Angelo, a Florentine. In the execution of the maps, however,
Nicolaus, instead of adhering to the flat projection of Ptolemy,
chose what is known as the "Donis-projection", because first
worked out by him, in which the parallels of latitude are equi-
distant, but the meridians are made to converge towards the
pole. He likewise introduced new modes in delineating the
outlines of countries and oceans, mountains and lakes, as well
as in the choice of cartographic proportions. He reduced the
awkward size to one which was convenient for use; the obscure
and often unattractive mode of presentation he replaced by one
both tasteful and easily intelligible; he endeavored to revise
obsolete maps in accordance with later information and to
supplement them with new maps. While his first recension
embraced only the twenty-seven maps of Ptolemy (one map of the
world, ten special maps of Europe, four of Africa, twelve of
Asia), the second comprised thirty (including in addition modern
maps of Spain, Italy, and the Northern countries: Sweden,
Norway, and Greenland). The last-named enlarged recension he
dedicated as priest to Pope Paul II (1464-71). He dedicated to
the same pontiff his third recension, containing thirty-two
maps, adding modern maps of France and the Holy Land. The works
of the German cartographer were of great value in diffusing the
knowledges of Ptolemy's Geography. The first recension, probably
the very copy in the Lenox Library (New York), is the basis of
the Roman editions of Ptolemy bearing the dates 1478, 1490, and
1507; on the third, certainly the copy preserved in Wolfegg
Castle, are based the Ulm editions of 1482 and 1486. By
combining the Roman and Ulm editions Waldseemüller produced the
maps of Ptolemy in the Strasburg edition of 1513, which was
frequently copied. The modern map of the Northern countries,
made by Claudius Clavus, which Nicolaus embodied in his second
recension of Ptolemy, was perhaps the source of the Zeni map
which had such far-reaching influence, and likewise of the
maritime charts of the Canerio and Cantino type. The revised map
of the Northern countries in the third recension of Nicolaus,
which placed Greenland north of the Scandinavian Peninsula, was
a powerful factor in cartography for a century, especially as
Waldseemuller gave the preference to this representation in his
world and wall map of 1507, "the baptismal certificate of
America". Because of these and other services to geography and
cartography, as for example, by the revision of Buondelmonte's
"Insularium", it would be desirable to have it established
whether Nicolaus was really, as I conjecture, a Benedictine
father of the Badia at Florence.
FISCHER, Nicolaus Germanus in Entdeckungen der Normannen in
Amerika (Freiburg, 1902), 75-90, 113 sqq. (Eng. tr., London,
1903), 72-86, 108 sqq.
JOSEPH FISCHER
Pierre Nicole
Pierre Nicole
Theologian and controversialist, b. 19 October, 1625, at
Chartres, d. 16 November, 1695, at Paris. He studied at Paris,
became Master of Arts, 1644, and followed courses in theology,
1645-46. Under Sainte-Beuve's direction he applied himself
earnestly to the study of St. Augustine and St. Thomas, devoting
part of his time to teaching in the schools of Port-Royal. In
1649 he received the degree of Bachelor of Theology, and then
withdrew to Port-Royal des Champs, where he fell in with the
Jansenistic leaders, especially Antoine Arnauld, who found in
him a willing ally. He returned to Paris in 1654 under the
assumed name of M. de Rosny. Four years later, during a tour in
Germany, he translated Pascal's "Provinciales" into classic
Latin, adding notes of his own and publishing the whole as the
work of William Wendrock. In 1676 he sought admission to Holy
orders, but was refused by the Bishop of Chartres and never got
beyond tonsure. A letter which he wrote (1677) to Innocent XI in
favor of the Bishops of Saint-Pons and Arras, involved him in
difficulties that obliged him to quit the capital. In 1679 he
went to Belgium and lived for a time with Arnauld in Brussels,
Liège, and other cities. About 1683 de Harlay, Archbishop of
Paris, to whom he had sent a sort of retractation, authorized
Nicole to return to Chartres, then to Paris. Here he took part
in two celebrated controversies, the one involving Quietism in
which he upheld Bossuet's views, the other relating to monastic
studies in which he sided with Mabillon against the Abbé de
Rancey. His last years were saddened by painful infirmities and
his death came after a series of apoplectic attacks.
Pierre Nicole was a distinguished writer and a vigorous
controversialist and, together with Pascal, contributed much to
the formation of French prose. As a controversialist, he too
frequently placed his talent at the service of a sect; however,
many are of the opinion that he did not wholly share the errors
of the majority of the Jansenists. At any rate, we generally
find in him only a mitigated expression of these errors clothed
in great reserve. On the other hand, he started the resistance
fund known as "la boîte à Perrette". (See JANSENIUS.) Niceron
(Mèmoires, XXIX, Paris, 1783) enumerates no less than
eighty-eight of his works, several of which were, however, very
short. The principal works of Nicole relating either to
Protestantism or Jansenism are: "Les imaginaires et les
visionnaires" or "Lettres sur l'hérésie imaginaire", namely,
that of the Jansenists (Liège, 1667); "La perpétuité de la foi
catholique touchant l'Eucharistie", published under Arnauld's
name, but the first three volumes of which (Paris, 1669-76) are
by Nicole, the fourth and fifth (Paris, 1711-13) by the Abbé
Renaudot; "Préjugés légitimes contre les Calvinistes" (Paris,
1671); "La défense de l'Eglise" (Cologne, 1689), being a reply
to the "Défense de la Réformation" written by the minister,
Claude, against the "Préjugés légitimes"; "Essais de morale"
(Paris, 1671-78); "Les prétendus Réformés convaincus de schisme"
(Paris, 1684); "De l'unité de l'Eglise" or "Réfutation du
nouveau système de M. Jurieu" (paris, 1687), a condensed and
decisive criticism of the theory of the "fundamental articles";
"Réfutation des principales erreurs des Quiétistes" (Paris,
1695); "Instructions théologiques et morales sur les sacrements"
(Paris, 1706), "sur le Symbole" (Paris, 1706), "sur l'Oraison
dominicale, la Salutation angélique, la Sainte Messe et les
autres prières de l'Eglise (Paris, 1706), "sur le premier
commandement du Décalogue" (Paris, 1709); "Traité de la grâce
générale" (Paris, 1715), containing all that Nicole had written
at different times on grace; "Traité de l'usure" (Paris, 1720).
GOUJET, Histoire de la vie et des ouvrages de Nicole (Paris,
1733); BESOIGNE, Vie de Nicole in the Histoire de Port-Royal, V;
(Both of these authors are Jansenists and write as such.) an
anonymous Biography of Nicole in the Continuation des essais de
morale (Luxemburg, 1732), CERVEAU, L'esprit d e Nicole (Paris,
1765); MERSAN, Pensees de Nicole (Paris, 1806); FLOSS in
Kirchenlex., s. v.; HURTER, Nomenclator, II.
J. FORGET
Nicolet
Nicolet
(NICOLETANA)
Diocese in the Province of Quebec, Canada, suffragan of Quebec.
It comprises the counties of Nicolet, Yamaska, Arthabaska,
Drummond, and a small part of Shefford and Bagot. The see takes
its name from the town of Nicolet (population 3915), situated on
the south bank of the St. Lawrence, opposite Trois-Rivières.
It was erected into a bishopric on 11 July, 1885, by separation
from the Diocese of Trois-Rivières, the first occupant of the
see being Mgr Elphège Gravel. He was born on 12 October, 1838,
at Saint-Antoine de Richelieu, Quebec; consecrated at Rome on 2
August, 1885, and died, 28 January, 1904. His successor, Mgr
Joseph-Simon-Herman Brunault, the present occupant of the see,
was born at St-David, Quebec, on 10 January, 1857; educated at
the seminary of Nicolet and the Canadian College, Rome;
ordained, 29 June, 1882. Having ministered two years in the
cathedral of St. Hyacinth and taught for many years in the
seminary of Nicolet, first as professor of literature, and then
of theology, he was named coadjutor to Mgr Gravel and
consecrated titular Bishop of Tubuna, 27 December, 1899; and
succeeded as Bishop of Nicolet, 28 January, 1904. The seminary
of Nicolet was founded in October, 1803, and affiliated to the
Laval University of Quebec, in 1863; it contains over 320
students; a grand séminaire, likewise affiliated to the
University of Laval, was established at Nicolet, 22 February,
1908.
The religious in the diocese are as follows: Soeurs de
l'Assomption de la Sainte-Vierge, teachers, founded at
St-Grégoire (Nicolet) in 1853, have eighteen houses in the
diocese; Soeurs Grises (de Nicolet), hospitallers, three houses;
Congrégation de Notre-Dame (of Montreal), teachers, at
Arthabaskaville, and Victoriaville; Soeurs de la Présentation de
la Bienheureuse Vierge Marie, teachers, at St-David and
Drummondville; Soeurs Grises de la Croix (of Ottawa), teachers
and nurses, with academy and school of house-keeping at
St-Francois du Lac, and a school at Pierreville (Abenaki Indian
village); Religieuses hospitalières de St-Joseph (of Montreal),
hospitallers, at Arthabaskaville; Soeurs du Précieux-Sang, and
Soeurs de la Sainte-Famille at Nicolet; the Frères des Ecoles
Chrétiennes have schools at Nicolet, Arthabaskaville, La Baie,
and St-Grégoire; the Frères de la Charité are at Drummondville;
and the Frères du Sacré-Coeur teach at Arthabaskaville, and
Victoriaville.
General Statistics
Secular priests, 140; brothers, 120; sisters, 400; churches with
resident priests, 65; mission, 1; theological seminary, 1;
college seminary, 1; commercial colleges and academies for boys,
11; students, 1500; academies for young ladies in charge of
sisters, 28; students, 1800; normal school for young ladies, 1;
parochial schools, 500; children attending parochial schools,
20,000; orphan asylums, 1; orphans, 120; hospitals, 3;
population: Catholic French Canadians, 90,000; Irish Canadians,
600; Protestants, 1800; total population, 92,400.
J.-S.-HERMAN BRUNAULT
Nicolo De' Tudeschi
Nicolò de' Tudeschi
("abbas modernus" or "recentior", "abbas Panormitanus" or
"Siculus")
A Benedictine canonist, b. at Catania, Sicily, in 1386; d. at
Palermo,24 February, 1445. In 1400 he entered the Order of St.
Benedict; he was sent (1405-6) to the University of Bologna to
study under Zabarella; in 1411 he became a doctor of canon law,
and taught successively at Parma (1412-18), Siena (1419-30), and
Bologna (1431-32). Meanwhile in 1425, he was made abbot of the
monastery of Maniacio, near Messina, whence his name "Abbas", to
which has been added "modernus" or "recentior" (in order to
distinguish him from "Abbas antiquus", a thirteenth century
canonist who died about 1288); he is also known as "Abbas
Siculus" on account of his Sicilian origin. In 1433 he went to
Rome where he exercised the functions of auditor of the Rota and
Apostolic referendary. The following year he relinquished these
offices and placed himself at the service of Alfonso of Castile,
King of Sicily, obtaining the See of Palermo in 1435, whence his
name "Panormitanus". During the troubles that marred the
pontificate of Eugene IV, Nicolò at first followed the party of
this pontiff but subsequently allied himself with the antipope
Felix V who, in 1440, named him cardinal. In his "Tractatus de
concilio Basileensi he upheld the doctrine of the superiority of
a general council to the pope. It was his canonical works,
especially his "Lectura in Decretales" "In Sextum", and "In
Clementinas", that won him the title of "lucerna juris" (lamp of
the law) and insured him great authority; he also wrote
"Consilia", "Quaestiones", "Repetitiones", "Disputationes,
disceptationes et allegationes", and "Flores utriusque juris". A
fine edition of his works appeared at Venice in 1477; among
later, frequent editions, that published in 1617-18 (Venice) in
10 folio volumes is especially notable.
SCHULTE, Die Gesch. der Quellen u. Lit. des canonischen Rechtes,
II (Stuttgart, 1877), 312-313; SABBADINI, Storia documentata
della Reale Universita di Catania (Catania, 1898), 10 sq.
BRANDILEONE, Notizie su Graziano e su Niccolo de Tudeschis
tratte da una cronaca inedita. Studi e memorie per la storia
dell' Universita di Bologna, I (Bologna, 1909), i, 18-21.
A. VAN HOVE
Saint Nicomedes
St. Nicomedes
Martyr of unknown era, whose feast is observed 15 September. The
Roman Martyrologium and the historical Martyrologies of Bede and
his imitators place the feast on this date. The Gregorian
Sacramentary contains under the same date the orations for his
Mass. The name does not appear in the three oldest and most
important MSS. of the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum", but was
inserted in later recensions ("Martyrol. Hieronymianum", ed. De
Rossi-Duchesne, in Acta SS., Nov., II, 121). The saint is
without doubt a martyr of the Roman Church. He was buried in a
catacomb on the Via Nomentana near the gate of that name. Three
seventh century Itineraries make explicit reference to his
grave, and Pope Adrian I restored the church built over it (De
Rossi, "Rome Sotterranea", I, 178-79). A titular church of Rome,
mentioned in the fifth century, was dedicated to him (titulus S.
Nicomedis). Nothing is known of the circumstances of his death.
The legend of the martyrdom of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus
introduces him as a presbyter and places his death at the end of
the first century. Other recensions of the martyrdom of St.
Nicomedes ascribe the sentence of death to the Emperor
Maximianus (beginning of the fourth century).
Acta SS., Sept., V, 5 sqq., Analecta Bollandiana, XI, 268-69;
MOMBRITIUS, Sanctuarium, II, 160-61; Bibliotheca hagiographica
latina, ed. BOLLANDISTS, II, 901-02; DUFOURCQ, Les Gesta
Martyrurm romains, I (Paris, 1900), 209-10; MARUCCI, Les
catacombes romaines (Rome, 1900), 254-56.
J.P. KIRSCH
Nicomedia
Nicomedia
Titular see of Bithynia Prima, founded by King Zipoetes. About
264 B.C. his son Nicodemes I dedicated the city anew, gave it
his name, made it his capital, and adorned it with magnificent
monuments. At his court the vanquished Hannibal sought refuge.
When Bithynia became a Roman province Nicomedia remained its
capital. Pliny the Younger mentions, in his letters to Trajan,
several public edifices of the city -- a senate house, an
aqueduct which he had built, a forum, the temple of Cybele, etc.
He also proposed to join the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmora
by a canal which should follow the river Sangarius and empty the
waters of the Lake of Sabandja into the Gulf of Astacus. A fire
then almost destroyed the town. From Nicomedia perhaps, he wrote
to Trajan his famous letter concerning the Christians. Under
Marcus Aurelius, Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, addressed a
letter to his community warning them against the Marcionites
(Eusebius, "Hist. Eccl.", IV, xxiii). Bishop Evander, who
opposed the sect of the Ophites (P.L., LIII, 592), seems to have
lived at the same time. Nicomedia was the favorite residence of
Diocletian, who built there a palace, a hippodrome, a mint, and
an arsenal. In 303 the edict of the tenth persecution caused
rivers of blood to flow through the empire, especially in
Nicomedia, where the Bishop Anthimus and a great many Christians
were martyred. The city was then half Christian, the palace
itself being filled with them. In 303, in the vast plain east of
Nicomedia, Diocletian renounced the empire in favour of
Galerius. In 311 Lucian, a priest of Antioch, delivered a
discourse in the presence of the judge before he was executed.
Other martyrs of the city are numbered by hundreds. Nicomedia
suffered greatly during the fourth century from an invasion of
the Goths and from an earthquake (24 Aug., 354), which overthrew
all the public and private monuments; fire completed the
catastrophe. The city was rebuilt, on a smaller scale. In the
reign of Justinian new public buildings were erected, which were
destroyed in the following century by the Shah Chosroes. Pope
Constantine I visited the city in 711. In 1073 John Comnenus was
there proclaimed emperor and shortly afterwards was compelled to
abdicate. In 1328 it was captured by the Sultan Orkhan, who
restored its ramparts, parts of which are still preserved.
Le Quien (Oriens Christ., I, 581-98) has drawn up a list of
fifty metropolitans, which may easily be completed, for
Nicomedia has never ceased to be a metropolitan see. Some Latin
archbishops are also mentioned by Le Quien (III, 1017) and by
Eubel (Hierarchia Catholica medii aevi, I, 381). As early as the
eighth century the metropolitan See of Nicomedia had eight
suffragan sees which disappeared by degrees. Among its bishops,
apart from those already mentioned, were: the three Arians,
Eusebius, Eudoxius, and Demophilus, who exchanged their see for
that of Constantinople; St. Theophylactus, martyred by the
Iconoclasts in the ninth century; George, a great preacher and a
friend of Photius; Philotheus Bryennios, the present titular,
who discovered and published Didache ton apostolon. To-day
Nicomedia is called Ismidt, the chief town of a sanjak directly
dependent on Constantinople. It has about 25,000 inhabitants,
who are very poor, for the German port of Haidar Pacha has
completely ruined its commerce. Since 1891 the Augustinians of
the Assumption have a mission and school, and the Oblates of the
Assumption, a school and a dispensary. The Latin Catholics
number about 250 in the region of the mission, seventy of them
living in the city. The Armenian Catholic parish numbers 120.
TEXIER, Asie Mineure (Paris, 1862), 60-68; CUINET, La Turquie
d'Asie (Paris), IV, 355-64.
S. VAILHÉ
Nicopolis (Armenia Prima)
Nicopolis
A titular see, suffragan of Sebasteia, in Armenia Prima. Founded
by Pompey after his decisive victory over Mithridates, it was
inhabited by veterans of his army and by members of the
neighboring peasantry, and was delightfully situated in a
beautiful, well-watered plain lying at the base of a
thickly-wooded mountain. All the Roman highways intersecting
that portion of the country and leading to Comana, Polemonium,
Neocaesarea, Sebasteia, etc., radiated from Nicopolis which,
even in the time of Strabo (XII, iii, 28), boasted quite a large
population. Given to Polemon by Anthony, in 36 B.C., Nicopolis
was governed from A.D. 54, by Aristobulus of Chalcis and
definitively annexed to the Roman Empire by Nero, A.D. 64. It
then became the metropolis of Lesser Armenia and the seat of the
provincial diet which elected the Armeniarch. Besides the altar
of the Augusti, it raised temples to Zeus Nicephorus and to
Victory. Christianity reached Nicopolis at an early date and,
under Licinius, about 319, forty-five of the city's inhabitants
were martyred; the Church venerates them on 10 July. St. Basil
(P.G., XXXII, 896) calls the priests of Nicopolis the sons of
confessors and martyrs, and their church (P. G., XXXII, 834) the
mother of that of Colonia. About 472, St. John the Silent, who
had sold his worldly goods, erected a church there to the
Blessed Virgin.
In 499 Nicopolis was destroyed by an earthquake, none save the
bishop and his two secretaries escaping death (Bull. Acad. de
Belgique, 1905, 557). This disaster was irreparable, and
although Justinian rebuilt the walls and erected a monastery in
memory of the Forty-five Martyrs (Procopius, "De Ædificiis",
III, 4), Nicopolis never regained its former splendour. Under
Heraclius it was captured by Chosroes (Sebeos, "Histoire
d'Heraclius", tr. Macler, p. 62) and thenceforth was only a
mediocre city, a simple see and a suffragan of Sebasteia in
Lesser Armenia, remaining such at least until the eleventh
century, as may be seen from the various "Notitiae
episcopatuum". To-day the site of ancient Nicopolis is occupied
by the Armenian village of Purkh, which has a population of 200
families and is near the city of Enderes, in the sanjak of
Kara-Hissar and the vilayet of Sivas. Natable among the eight
bishops mentioned by Le Quien is St. Gregory who, in the
eleventh century, resigned his bishopric and retired to
Pithiviers in France. The Church venerates him on 14 March.
LE QUIEN, Oriens christianus (Paris, 1740), I, 427-30; Acta
Sanctorum, July, III, 34-45; CUMONT, Studica Pontica (Brussels,
1906), 304-14.
S. VAILHÉ
Nicopolis (Bulgaria)
Nicopolis
(NICOPOLITANA)
Diocese in Bulgaria. The city of Nicopolis (Thrace or Moesia),
situated at the junction of the Iatrus with the Danube, was
built by Trajan in commemoration of his victory over the Dacians
(Ammianus Marcellinus, XXXI, 5; Jornandes, "De rebus geticis",
ed. Savagner, 218). Ptolemy (III, xi, 7) places it in Thrace and
Hierocles in Moesia near the Haemus or Balkans. In the
"Ecthesis" of pseudo-Epiphanius (Gelzer, "Ungedruckte . . .
Texte der Notitiae episcopatuum", 535), Nicopolis figures as an
autocephalous archbishopric about 640, and then disappears from
the episcopal lists, owing to the fact that the country fell
into the hands of the Bulgarians. Le Quien (Oriens christianus,
I, 1233) has preserved the names of two ancient bishops:
Marcellus in 458, and Amantius in 518. A list of the Latin
titulars (1354-1413) may be found in Eubel (Hierarchia catholica
medii aevi, Münster, I, 381). The city is chiefly noted for the
defeat of the French and Hungarian armies (25 September, 1396)
which made the Turks masters of the Balkan peninsula. The Latin
mission of Bulgaria, subject during the sixteenth century to the
Archbishops of Antivari, afterwards received Franciscan
missionaries from Bosnia, and in 1624 formed an independent
province called "custodia Bulgariae". In 1763 it was confided to
the Baptistines of Genoa and in 1781, to the Passionists who
have no canonical residences in the country, simply parishes.
One of them is usually appointed Bishop of Nicopolis. The
Franciscan bishops formerly resided at Tchiprovetz, destroyed by
the Turks in 1688, but after the war and the pestilence of 1812,
the bishop established himself at Cioplea, a Catholic village
which the Bulgarians had just founded hear Bucharest and where
his successors resided until 1883, when the Holy See created the
Archbishopric of Bucharest. The Bishop of Nicopolis, ceasing
then to be apostolic administrator of Wallachia, chose
Roustchouk as his residence and still lives there. In the
diocese there are 13,000 Catholics; 24 priests, 5 of whom are
seculars; 17 Passionists and 2 Assumptionists; 15 churches, and
3 chapels. The Assumptionists have a school at Varna, the
Oblates of the Assumption a boarding-school in the same city,
and the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion a boarding-school at
Roustchouk.
Ptolemy, ed. MULLER, I (Paris), 481; LE ROULX, La France en
Orient au XIVe siecle, I (Paris, 1886), 211-99; Echos d'Orient,
VII (Paris), 207-9; Missiones catholicae (Rome, 1907).
S. VAILHÉ
Nicopolis
Nicopolis
A titular see and metropolis in ancient Epirus. Augustus founded
the city (B. C. 31) on a promontory in the Gulf of Ambracia, in
commemoration of his victory over Anthony and Cleopatra at
Actium. At Nicopolis the emperor instituted the famous
quinquennial Actian games in honor of Apollo. The city was
peopled chiefly by settlers from the neighboring municipia, of
which it was the head (Strabo III, xiii, 3; VII, vii, 6; X, ii,
2). According to Pliny the Elder (IV, 2) it was a free city. St.
Paul intended going there (Tit., iii, 12) and it is possible
that even then it numbered some Christians among its population;
Origen sojourned there for a while (Eusebius, "Hist. eccl.", VI,
16). Laid waste by the Goths at the beginning of the fifth
century (Procopius, "Bell. goth.", IV, 22), restored by
Justinian (Idem "De Ædificiis", IV, 2), in the sixth century it
was still the capital of Epirus (Hierocles, "Synecdemus", ed.
Burchhardt, 651, 4). The province of ancient Epirus of which
Nicopolis was the metropolis, constituted a portion of the
western patriarchate, directly subject to the jurisdiction of
the pope; but, about 732, Leo the Isaurian incorporated it into
the Patriarcate of Constantinople. Of the eleven metropolitans
mentioned by Le Quien (Oriens christianus, II, 133-38) the most
celebrated was Alcison who, early in the sixth century, opposed
the Monophysite policy of Emperor Anastasius. The last known of
these bishops was Anastasius, who attended the Ecumenical
Council in 787, and soon afterwards, owing to the decadence into
which Nicopolis fell, the metropolitan see was transferred to
Naupactus which subsequently figured in the Notitiae
episcopatuum. Quite extensive ruins of Nicopolis are found three
miles to the north of Prevesa and are called Palaio-Prevesa.
SMITH, Dict. Greek and Roman Geography, II (London, 1870), 426;
LEAKE, Northern Greece, I, 185; WOLFE, Journal of Geographical
Society,III, 92 sq.
S. VAILHÉ
Nicosia (Sicily)
Nicosia
A city of the Province of Catania, in Sicily situated at a
height of about 2800 feet above the level of the sea. In its
neighborhood are salt mines and sulphur springs. The town is
believed to stand on the site of the ancient Otterbita, which
was destroyed by the Arabs. It has a fine cathedral, with a
magnificent portal and paintings by Velasquez. Santa Maria
Maggiore, also, is a beautiful church. The episcopal see was
erected in 1818, its first prelate being Mgr Cajetan M. Averna.
Nicosia was the birthplace of the Blessed Felix of Nicosia, a
Capuchin lay brother. Within the diocese is the ancient city of
Triona, which was an episcopal see from 1087 to 1090. Nicosia is
a suffragan of Messina, from the territory of which that of
Nicosia was taken; it has 23 parishes, with 60,250 inhabitants,
4 religious houses of men, and 5 of women, and 3 schools for
girls.
CAPPELLETTI, Le Chiese d'Italia, XXI (Venice, 1857).
U. BENIGNI
Nicosia (Cyprus)
Nicosia
Titular archdiocese in the Province of Cyprus. It is now agreed
(Oberhummer' "Aus Cypern" in "Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft fur
Erdkunde", 1890, 212-14), that Ledra, Leucotheon, Leucopolis,
Leucosia, and Nicosia are the same city, at least the same
episcopal see. Ledra is first mentioned by Sozomen (H. E., I,
11) in connexion with its bishop, St. Triphyllius, who lived
under Constantine and whom St. Jerome (De scriptoribus
ecclesiasticis), pronounced the most eloquent of his time.
Mention is made also of one of his disciples, St. Diomedes,
venerated on 28 October. Under the name of Leucosia the city
appears for the first time in the sixth century, in the
"Synecdemus" of Hierocles (ed. Burckhardt, 707-8). It was
certainly subsequent to the eighth century that Leucosia or
Nicosia replaced Constantia as the metropolis of Cyprus, for at
the (Ecumenical Council of 787 one Constantine signed as Bishop
of Constantia; in any case at the conquest of the island in 1191
by Richard Coeur de Lion Nicosia was the capital. At that time
Cyprus was sold to the Templars who established themselves in
the castle of Nicosia, but not being able to overcome the
hostility of the people of the city, massacred the majority of
the inhabitants and sold Cyprus to Guy de Lusignan, who founded
a dynasty there, of which there were fifteen titulars, and did
much towards the prosperity of the capital. Nicosia was then
made a Latin metropolitan see with three suffragans, Paphos,
Limassol, and Famagusta. The Greeks who had previously had as
many as fourteen titulars were obliged to be content with four
bishops bearing the same titles as the Latins but residing in
different towns. The list of thirty-one Latin archbishops from
1196 to 1502 may be seen in Eubel, "Hierarchia catholica medii
aevi", I, 382; II, 224. Quarrels between Greeks and Latins were
frequent and prolonged, especially at Nicosia, where the two
councils of 1313-60 ended in bloodshed; but in spite of
everything the island prospered. There were many beautiful
churches in the possession of the Dominicans, Franciscans,
Augustinians, Carmelites, Benedictines, and Carthusians. Other
churches belonged to the Greeks, Armenians, Jacobites,
Maronites, Nestorians etc. In 1489 Cyprus fell under the
dominion of Venice and on 9 November, 1570, Nicosia fell into
the power of the Turks, who committed atrocious cruelties. Nor
was this the last time, for on 9 July, 1821, during the revolt
of the Greeks in the Ottoman Empire, they strangled many of the
people of Nicosia, among them the four Greek bishops of the
island. Since 4 June, 1878, Cyprus has been under the dominion
of England. Previously Nicosia was the residence of the
Mutessarif of the sandjak which depended on the vilayet of the
Archipelago. Since the Turkish occupation of 1571 Nicosia has
been the permanent residence of the Greek archbishop who governs
the autonomous church of Cyprus. The city has 13,000
inhabitants. The Franciscans administer the Catholic mission
which is dependent on the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and
has a school for boys. The Sisters of St. Joseph have a school
for girls.
LE QUIEN, Oriens christianus, II (Paris, 1740), 1076; Acta
Sanctorum, III Junii, 174-78; Analecta Bollandiana (Brussels
1907), 212-20; MAS LATRIE, Histoire des Archeveques latins de
l'ile de Chypre (Genoa, 1882); HACKETT, A History of the
Orthodox Church of Cyprus (London, 190l), passim; PHRANGOUDES,
Cyprus (Athens, 1890), in Greek; CHAMBERLAYNE, Lacrimae
Nicosienses (Paris, 1894).
S. VAILHÉ
Nicotera and Tropea
Nicotera and Tropea
(NICOTERENSIS ET TROPEIENSIS)
Suffragan diocese of Reggio di Calabria. Nicotera, the ancient
Medama, is a city of the Province of Catanzaro, in Calabria,
Italy; it was destroyed by the earthquake of 1783. Its first
known bishop was Proculus, to whom, with others, a letter of St.
Gregory the Great was written in 599. With the exception of
Sergius (787), none of its bishops is known earlier than 1392.
Under Bishop Charles Pinti, the city was pillaged by the Turks.
In 1818, it was united on equal terms (aeque principaliter) with
the Diocese of Tropea. This city is situated on a reef, in the
gulf of St. Euphemia connected with the mainland by a narrow
strip. It is the birthplace of the painter Spanò, the anatomists
Pietro and Paolo Voiani, and the philosopher Pasquale Galluppi.
It has a beautiful cathedral, restored after its destruction by
the earthquake of 1783. Here the Greek Rite was formerly used.
Only three bishops before the Norman conquest are known; the
first, Joannes, is referred to the year 649; among its other
prelates was Nicolò Acciapori (1410), an eminent statesman. The
diocese has 72 parishes, with 78,000 inhabitants, a Franciscan
house, and a house of the Sisters of Charity.
CAPPELLETTI, Le Chiese d'Italia, XXI.
U. BENIGNI
John Nider
John Nider
Theologian, b. 1380 in Swabia; d. 13 August, 1438, at Colmar. He
entered the Order of Preachers at Colmar and after profession
was sent to Vienna for his philosophical studies, which he
finished at Cologne where he was ordained. He gained a wide
reputation in Germany as a preacher and was active at the
Council of Constance. After making a study of the convents of
his order of strict observance in Italy he returned to the
University of Vienna where in 1425 he began teaching as Master
of Theology. Elected prior of the Dominican convent at Nuremberg
in 1427, he successively served as socius to his master general
and vicar of the reformed convents of the German province. In
this capacity he maintained his early reputation of reformer and
in 1431 he was chosen prior of the convent of strict observance
at Basle. He became identified with the Council of Basle as
theologian and legate, making several embassies to the Hussites
at the command of Cardinal Julian. Sent as legate of the Council
to the Bohemians he succeeded in pacifying them. He journeyed to
Ratisbon (1434) to effect a further reconciliation with the
Bohemians and then proceeded to Vienna to continue his work of
reforming the convents there. During the discussion that
followed the dissolution of the Couneil of Basle by Eugene IV,
he joined the party in favour of continuing the Council in
Germany, abandoning them, however, when the pope remained firm
in his decision. He resumed his theological leetures at Vienna
in 1436 and was twice elected dean of the university before his
death. As reformer he was foremost in Germany and welcomed as
such both by his own order and by the Fathers of the Council of
Basle. As a theologian his adherence to the principles of St.
Thomas and his practical methods made him distinguished among
his contemporaries. The most important among his many writings
is the "Formicarius" (5 vols., Douai, 1602) a treatise on the
philosophical, theological, and social questions of his day.
Among his theological works are the following: "Commentarius in
IV libros Sententiarum" (no longer extant); "Praeceptorum
divinae legis" (Douai, 1612, seventeen other editions before
1500); "Tractatus de contractibus mercatorum" (Paris, 1514,
eight editions before 1500); "Consolatorium timoratae
conscientiae" (Rome, 1604); "De Morali lepra" (Regia, l830);
"Manuale ad instructionem spiritualium Pastorum" (Rome, 1513);
"Alphabetum Divini Amoris" (Antwerp, 1705, in works of Gerson);
"De modo bene vivendi " (commonly atttributed to St. Bernard),
"De Reformatione Religiosorum Libri Tres" (Paris, 1512; Antwerp,
1611). Besides these there are several letters written to the
Bohemians and to the Fathers of the Council of Basle, printed in
"Monum. Concil. General., saec. XV, Concil. Basil. Scrip.", I
(Vienna, 1857).
QUETIF-ECHARD, Scriptores 0. P., I, 792 sqq., II, 822; TOURON
Histoire des Hommes illustres de l'ordre de St. Dominique, III,
218-76; SCHIELER in Kirchenlex. q. v. Nider; COLVENERIUS, J.
Nider Formicarius (Douai, 1602); STEILL., Ord. Praed.
Ephemerides Domincano-sacrae, II (Dilling, 1692), 230; SCHIELER,
Magister Johannes Nider, aus dem Orden der Prediger-Bruder
(Mainz, 1885): Annee Dominicaine, VII (1895), 731-46; HAIN, Rep.
Bibl., III (1831); BRUMER, Predigerorden in Wien (1867);
CHEVALIER, Repertoire des Sources historiques du Moyen Age, II,
3360.
IGNATIUS SMITH
Juan Eusebio Nieremberg y Otin
Juan Eusebio Nieremberg y Otin
Noted theologian and polygraphist, b. of German parents at
Madrid, 1595; d. there, 1658. Having studied the classics at the
Court, he went to Alcala for the sciences and from there to
Salamanca for canon law, where he entered the Society of Jesus
in 1614, much against the wishes of his father who finally
obliged him to leave the novitiate of Villagarcia. He remained
firm in his resolution and was permitted to return to Madrid to
finish his probation. He studied Greek and Hebrew at the Colegio
de Huete, arts and theology at Alcala, and was ordained in 1623,
making his profession in 1633. At the Colegio Imperial of Madrid
he taught humanities and natural history for sixteen years and
Sacred Scripture for three. As a director of souls he was much
sought, being appointed by royal command confessor to the
Duchess of Mantua, granddaughter of Philip II. Remarkable for
his exemplary life, and the heights of prayer to which he
attained, he was an indefatigable worker, and one of the most
prolific writers of his time. Seventy-three printed and eleven
manuscript works are attributed to him, of these twenty-four at
least are in Latin. Though his works are distinguished for their
erudition, those in Spanish being characterized according to
Capmani, by nobility and purity of diction, terse, well-knit
phrases, forcible metaphors, and vivid imagery, certain defects
mar his style, at times inelegant and marked by a certain
disregard for the rules of grammar and a too pronounced use of
antithesis, paronomasia, and other plays upon words. Lack of a
true critical faculty often detracts from the learning. The
Spanish Academy includes his name in the " Diccionario de
Autoridades". His principal works are: (1) "Del Aprecio y Estima
de la Divina Gracia" (Madrid, 1638), editions of which have been
issued at Saragossa, Barcelona, Seville, Majorca, also a second
edition of the Madrid edition; it has been translated into
Italian, French, Latin, German, Panayano, and condensed into
English (New York, 1866, 1891); (2) "De la Diferencia entre lo
Temporal y Eterno" (Madrid, 1640), of which there are fifty-four
Spanish editions, and translations into Latin, Arabic, Italian,
French, German, Flemish, and English (1672, 1684, 1884),
Portuguese, Mexican, Guaranian, Chiquito, Panayano; (3) "Opera
Parthenica" (Lyons, 1659), in which he defends the Immaculate
Conception of the Blessed Virgin, basing it upon new, although
not always absolutely reliable, documents, (4) "Historia naturae
maxime peregrinae Libris XVI, distincta" (Antwerp, 1635); (5)
"De la afición y amor de Jesus . . . Idem de Maria" (Madrid,
1630), of which there are five Spanish editions and translations
into Latin, Arabic, German, Flemish, French, Italian,
Portuguese, and an English translation of the first edition
(1849, 1880); one edition of (6) "Obras Christianas espirituales
y filosóficas" (Madrid, 1651, fol. 3 vols.), and one of (7)
"Obras Christianas" (Madrid, 1665, fol. 2 vols.), are still
extant. It was customary in many of the Spanish churches to read
selections from these books every Sunday.
ANDRADE, Varones ilustres de la Compania de Jesus, VIII (2nd
ed., Bilbao (1891), 699-766; CAPMANI Y DF, MONTPALAU, Teatro
Historico critico de la Elocuencia espanola, V (Barcelona,
1848), 271; R. P. Joannis Eusebii Nierembergii e Societate Jesu
Opera Parthenica. . . . Vita ven. Patris. . . . Collecta ex his
quae hispanice scripserunt PP. Alphonsus de Andrade et Joannes
de Ygarza ejus. Soc. (Lyons, 1659); SOMMERVOGEI., Bibliot., V,
1725; GUILHERMY, Menologe de la Compagnie de Jesus, Assistance
d'Espagne, pt. I (Paris, 1902).
ANTONIO PEREZ GOYENA
Hans Niessenberger
Hans Niessenberger
An architect of the latter part of the Middle Ages, whose name
is mentioned with comparative frequency in contemporaneous
literature. But information about his personality and his works
is somewhat more difficult to find. It seems however, that he
was born in Gratz, Styria ("Seckauer Kirchenschmuck", 1880, p.
56). He worked on the choir of the Freiburg cathedral from 1471
to 1480; in the latter year he was compelled to leave the task
of building and to swear that he would not try to revenge
himself for this. In 1480 he worked on the church of St.
Leonhard at Basle; in 1482, on the cathedral at Strasburg; and
in the following year he probably was engaged on the great
cathedral of Milan with a yearly salary of 180 guilders -- at
least there is a "Johannes of Graz" mentioned as architect in
Ricci, "Storia dell' archit. italiana", II, 388. The choir at
Freiburg was turned over to him in 1471; the contract is
interesting and instructive showing as it does the manner in
which buildings of this kind were erected during the latter part
of the Middle Ages, and how the working hours, wages, etc., were
determined upon (Schreiber, "Münster zu Freiburg", Appendix, 15
sq.). The choir possesses great beauty, but it also manifests
the peculiarities of Late Gothic. It is long, like the main
church, with the nave higher, the side aisles lower and somewhat
narrower than in the front, and surrounded by twelve chapels,
enclosed on two sides by fluted columns. The arched roof,
supported by beautifully carved columns, forms a network. The
windows are characteristically Late Gothic, and the arches are
wonderfully delicate. The whole is the work of a master.
SCHREIBER, op. cit.; KUBLER, Gesch. der Baukunst, II (1859);
OTTE, Kunst-Archaologie (5th ed., 1884); KEMPF, Das Munster zu
Freiburg im Breisgau (Freiburg, 1898).
G. GIETMANN
Peter George Niger
Peter George Niger
(NIGRI, Ger. SCHWARTZ)
Dominican theologian, preacher and controversialist, b. 1434 at
Kaaden in Bohemia; d. between 1481 and 1484. He studied at
different universities (Salamanca, Montpellier, etc.), entered
the order in 1452 at Eichstätt, Bavaria, and after his religious
profession took up philosophy and theology at Leipzig, where he
also produced his first literary work "De modo praedicandi"
(1457). In 1459 he defended publicly in Freiburg a series of
theses so successfully that the provincial chapter then in
session there sent him to the University of Bologna for advanced
courses in theology and canon law. Recalled after two years, he
was made lector of theology and engaged in teaching and
preaching. In 1465 he taught philosophy and was regent of
studies in Cologne; in 1467 taught theology at Ulm; in 1469 or
1470 was elected prior in Eichstätt, on 31 May, 1473, the newly
founded University of Ingolstadt conferred on him the degree of
Doctor of theology; in 1474 he taught theology in the convent at
Ratisbon and in 1478 became professor of Old-Testament exegesis
in the University of Ingolstadt. Shortly after, upon the
invitation of the patron of learning, Matthias Corvinus, King of
Hungary, he became rector of his newly-erected Academy of
philosophy, theology, and Sacred Scripture at Buda, in gratitude
for which honor he dedicated to his royal friend his "Clypeus
Thomistarum adversus omnes doctrinae doctoris angelici
obtrectatores" (Venice, 1481), in which he defends the teaching
of St. Thomas against the Scotists and Nominalists. Niger ranks
among the most eminent theologians and preachers of the latter
half of the fifteenth century. He was a keen disciple of St.
Thomas, zealous for the integrity of his teachings and adhering
strictly to the traditions of his school. In his few theological
works he limits himself almost entirely to the discussion of
abstract questions of logic and psychology. He devoted most of
his time to preaching to the Jews. He had learned their language
and become familiar with their literature at Salamanca and
Montpellier by associating with Jewish children and attending
the lectures of the rabbis. At Ratisbon, Worms, and
Frankfort-on-the-Main he preached in German, Latin, and Hehrew,
frequently challenging the rabbis to a disputation: He wrote two
anti-Jewish works, one in Latin, "Tractatus contra Perfidos
Judaeos" (Esslingen, 1475), which is probably the earliest
printed anti-Jewish work, and in which he severely attacked the
Jews and the Talmud. The other, written in German, is entitled
"Stern des Messias" (Esslingen, 1477). Reuchlin in his
"Augenspiegel" declared them absurd. Both works are furnished
with appendices giving the Hebrew alphabet in Hebrew and Latin
type, rules of grammar and for reading Hebrew, the Decalogue in
Hebrew, some Messianic texts from the Old Testament, etc. They
are among the earliest specimens of Hebrew printing in Germany,
and the first attempt at Hebrew grammar in that country by a
Christian scholar. They were afterwards published separately as
"Commentatio de primis linguae Hebraicae elementis" (Altdorf,
1764). Peter Teuto, O. P. (Quétif, I, 855) and Peter
Eystettensis (Eck, "Chrysopassus Cent.", XLIX) are most probably
to be identified with Peter Niger.
QUETIF-ECHARD, SS. Ord. Praed., I, 861 sqq.; TOURON, Hom. III.
de l'ordre de S. Dom., III, 532-31 REUSCH, Allg. d. Biogr.,
XXXIII, 247 sq.; JOCHER, Allg. Gelehrtenlexikon, s. v.; PRANTL,
Gesch. der Logik im Abendl. (Leipzig, 1870), 221 sq.; Katholik,
I (1891), 574; II (1902), 310; Analecta Ord. Praed. II, 367;
WOLF, Bibliotheca Hebraica (Hamburg, 1721), II, 17, 1037, l110
sqq.; IV, 525 sqq.
JOSEPH SCHROEDER
Nigeria, Upper and Lower
Upper and Lower Nigeria
A colony of British East Africa extending from the Gulf of
Guinea to Lake Chad (from 4° 30' to 7°N. lat., and from 5° 30'
to 8° 30' E. long.), is bounded on the north and west by French
Sudan, on the south-west by the English colony of Lagos, on the
south by the Atlantic, on the east by German Kamerun. It derives
its name from the River Niger, flowing through it. The Niger,
French from its source in the Guinean Sudan to the frontier of
Sierra Leone and Liberia, enters Nigeria above Ilo, receives the
Sokoto River at Gomba, and the Benue at Lokodja, the chief
tributaries in English territory. Though the establishment of
the English dates only from 1879, numerous explorers had long
before reconnoitred the river and the neighbouring country.
Among the most famous were Mungo Park (1795-1805), Clapperton
(1822), René Caillé (1825), Lander, Barth, Mage, and recently
the French officers Galliéni, Mizon, Hourst, and Lenfant. In
1879, on the initiative of Sir George Goldie, the English
societies established in the region purchased all the French and
foreign trading stations of Lower Niger and in 1885 obtained a
royal charter which constituted them the "Royal Company of the
Niger". The Royal Company developed rapidly and acquired immense
territories, often at the cost of bloodshed. The monopoly of
navigation which it claimed to exercise, contrary to the
stipulations of the General Act of Berlin, its opposition to the
undertakings of France and Germany, its encroachments on
neighbouring territories, aroused numerous diplomatic quarrels
which finally brought about the revocation of its privileges (1
Jan., 1900). It then became a simple commercial company with
enormous territorial possessions; the conquered lands, reunited
to the old Protectorate of the Niger Coast organized in 1884,
constituted the British colony of Nigeria. France, however,
retained two colonies at Badjibo-Arenberg and at Forcados;
navigation was free to all.
Politically Nigeria is divided into two provinces, Southern or
Lower Nigeria, Northern or Upper Nigeria, separated by the
parallel which passes through Ida. Each division is governed by
a high commissioner named directly by the Crown. Northern
Nigeria with an area of over 123,400 square miles is as yet only
partly settled, and has nine constituted provinces. The ancient
capital, Gebha, is now replaced by Wushishi on the Kaduna. The
chief cities are Lokodja Ilo, Yola, Gando, Sokoto, Kano, etc.
Kano, situated two hundred miles to the north, is a remarkable
city and one of the largest markets of the whole world. For more
than a thousand years the metropolis of East Africa, Kano
contains about fifty thousand inhabitants, is surrounded by
walls built of hardened clay from twenty to thirty ft. high and
fifteen miles in circumference. Every year more than two million
natives go to Kano to exchange their agricultural products or
their merchandise. The chief articles of commerce are camels,
cattle, ivory, sugar, ostrich plumes, and kola nuts. Kano is
also a great industrial centre, renowned for its hides and its
cotton materials; sorghum and many kinds of vegetables and
cereals are cultivated. The natives are very good workmen,
especially in the cultivation of the fields. Although nominally
subject to England, some chiefs, or sultans, have remained
almost independent, for instance those of Sokoto and Nupe.
English money, however, has circulated everywhere and
three-penny pieces are very popular. Northern Nigeria has a
population of about fifteen million inhabitants, divided into
several tribes, each speaking its own tongue, the chief of which
are the Yorubas, the Nupes, the Haussas, and the Igbiras.
English is the official language of the administration.
Constantly pressing to the south, Islam has penetrated as far as
the markets of the Lower Niger, and carries on a vigorous
proselytism, aided by the representatives of the English
Government. Mussulman chiefs and instructors are often appointed
for the fetishistic population. Powerful English Protestant
missions have unsuccessfully endeavoured to gain a foothold.
Catholic missionaries explored a portion of these same regions
as early as 1883, but only now have they undertaken permanent
establishments. Nigeria is divided into two prefectures
Apostolic; that of the Upper Niger is confided to the Society of
African Missions of Lyons (1884), and that of the Lower Niger to
the Fathers of the Holy Ghost (1889). The first comprises all
the territory west of the Niger from Forcados and north of the
Benue to Yola. Its limits were only definitively constituted by
the decrees of 15 January and 10 May, 1894. The prefect
Apostolic resides at Lokodja. The mission is chiefly developed
in the more accessible part of Southern Nigeria, where Islam is
still almost a stranger. Its chief posts, besides Lokodja, are
Assaba, Ila, Ibsélé, Ibi, Idu, etc. The twenty missionaries are
assisted by the Religious of the Queen of the Apostles (Lyons);
in 1910 there were about 1500 Catholics and an equal number of
catechumens. The Prefecture Apostolic of the Lower Niger
comprises all the country situated between the Niger, the Benue,
and the western frontier of German Kamerun. Less extensive than
that of the Upper Niger, its population is much more dense,
almost wholly fetishistic, and even cannibal. Towns of five,
ten, and twenty thousand inhabitants are not rare; the
population is chiefly agricultural, cultivating the banana and
the yam. In the delta and on Cross River the palm oil harvest is
the object of an active commerce. Several tribes are crowded
into these fertile districts; the Ibo, Nri, Munchis, Ibibio,
Ibani, Ibeno, Efik, Akwa, Aro, etc. Their religion is fetishism,
with ridiculous and cruel practices often admitting of human
sacrifices, exacted by the ju-ju (a corruption of the native
word egugu), a fetish which is supposed to contain the spirit of
an ancestor; but purer religious elements are found beneath all
these superstitions, belief in God, the survival of the soul,
distinction between good and evil, etc.
The Mussulmans are located in important centres such as the
market of Onitcha. Moreover, wherever the English Government
employs Haussas as militia the latter carry on an active
propaganda, and where they are, a movement towards Islam is
discernible. This is the case at Calabar, Lagos, Freetown, and
numerous points in the interior and on the coast. English
Protestant missions have long since penetrated into this country
and have expended, not without results, enormous sums for
propaganda. Native churches with pastors and bishops have even
been organized on the Niger, constituting what is called the
native pastorate. At Calabar the United Presbyterian Church
dates from 1846, strongly established throughout the country. In
1885 the Catholic missionaries of Gabon established themselves
at Onitcha, the centre of the Ibo country and a city of twenty
thousand inhabitants. Several native kings, among them the King
of Onitcha, have been converted, numerous schools have been
organized, towns and villages everywhere have asked for
missionaries, or lacking them, for catechists. Until 1903 no
establishment could be made at Calabar, the seat of the
Government and the most important commercial centre of Southern
Nigeria, but once founded the Catholic mission became very
popular, adherents came in crowds, the schools were filled to
overflowing. There is need of labourers and resources for the
immense harvest. The Fathers of the Holy Ghost are seconded in
their efforts by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny. The
progress of evangelization seems to necessitate in the near
future the division of the mission into two prefectures, one of
which will have its centre at Onitcha, the other at Calabar.
Missions catholiques au XIX ^e siècle; Missions d'Afrique
(Paris, 1902); Missiones Catholicoe (Rome, 1907).
A. LE ROY.
Nihilism
Nihilism
The term was first used by Turgeniev in his novel, "Fathers and
Sons" (in "Russkij Vestnik", Feb., 1862): a Nihilist is one who
bows to no authority and accepts no doctrine, however
widespread, that is not supported by proof.
The nihilist theory was formulated by Cernysevskij in his novel
"Cto delat" (What shall be done, 1862-64), which forecasts a new
social order constructed on the ruins of the old. But
essentially, Nihilism was a reaction against the abuses of
Russian absolutism; it originated with the first secret
political society in Russia founded by Pestel (1817), and its
first effort was the military revolt of the Decembrists (14
Dec., 1825). Nicholas I crushed the uprising, sent its leaders
to the scaffold and one hundred and sixteen participants to
Siberia. The spread (1830) of certain philosophical doctrines
(Hegel, Saint Simon, Fourier) brought numerous recruits to
Nihilism, especially in the universities; and, in many of the
cities, societies were organized to combat absolutism and
introduce constitutional government.
THEORETICAL NIHILISM
Its apostles were Alexander Herzen (1812-70) and Michael Bakunin
(1814-76), both of noble birth. The former, arrested (1832) as a
partisan of liberal ideas, was imprisoned for eight months,
deported, pardoned (1840), resided in Moscow till 1847 when he
migrated to London and there founded (1857) the weekly
periodical, "Kolokol" (Bell), and later "The Polar Star". The
"Kolokol" published Russian political secrets and denunciations
of the Government; and, in spite of the police, made its way
into Russia to spread revolutionary ideas. Herzen, inspired by
Hegel and Feurbach, proclaimed the destruction of the existing
order; but he did not advocate violent measures. Hence his
younger followers wearied of him; and on the other hand his
defense of the Poles during the insurrection of 1863 alienated
many of his Russian sympathizers. The "Kolokol" went out of
existence in 1868 and Herzen died two years later. Bakunin was
extreme in his revolutionary theories. In the first number of
"L'Alliance Internationale de la Démocratie Socialiste" founded
by him in 1869, he openly professed Atheism and called for the
abolition of marriage, property, and of all social and religious
institutions. His advice, given in his "Revolutionary
Catechism", was: "Be severe to yourself and severe to others.
Suppress the sentiments of relationship, friendship, love, and
gratitude. Have only one pleasure, one joy, one reward -- the
triumph of the revolution. Night and day, have only one thought,
the destruction of everything without pity. Be ready to die and
ready to kill any one who opposes the triumph of your revolt."
Bakunin thus opened the way to nihilistic terrorism.
PROPAGANDA (1867-77)
It began with the formation (1861-62) of secret societies, the
members of which devoted their lives and fortunes to the
dissemination of revolutionary ideas. Many of these agitators,
educated at Zurich, Switzerland, returned to Russia and gave
Nihilism the support of trained intelligence. Prominent among
them were Sergius Necaev, master of a parochial school in St.
Petersburg, who was in constant communication with nihilist
centers in various cities, and Sergius Kovalin who established
thirteen associations in Cernigor. These societies took their
names from their founders -- the Malikovcy, Lavrists, Bakunists,
etc. They enrolled seminarists, university students, and young
women. Among the working men the propaganda was conducted in
part through free schools. The promoters engaged in humble
trades as weavers, blacksmiths, and carpenters, and in their
shops inculcated nihilist doctrine. The peasantry was reached by
writings, speeches, schools, and personal intercourse. Even the
nobles shared in this work, e.g., Prince Peter Krapotkin, who,
under the pseudonym of Borodin, held conferences with
workingmen. As secondary centres, taverns and shops served as
meeting places, depositories of prohibited books, and, in case
of need, as places of refuge. Though without a central
organization the movement spread throughout Russia, notably in
the region of the Volga and in that of the Dnieper where it
gained adherents among the Cossacks. The women in particular
displayed energy and self sacrifice in their zeal for the cause.
Many were highly cultured and some belonged to the nobility or
higher classes, e.g., Natalia Armfeld, Barbara Batiukova, Sofia
von Herzfeld, Sofia Perovakaja. They co-operated more especially
through the schools.
The propaganda of the press was at first conducted from foreign
parts: London, Geneva, Zurich. In this latter city there were
two printing offices, established in 1873, where the students
published the works of Lavrov and of Bakunin. The first secret
printing office in Russia, founded at St. Petersburg in 1861,
published four numbers of the Velikoruss. At the same time there
came to Russia, from London, copies of the "Proclamation to the
New Generation" (Kmolodomu pokolkniju) and "Young Russia"
(Molodaja Rosija), which was published in the following year. In
1862, another secret printing office, established at Moscow,
published the recital of the revolt of 14 December, 1825,
written by Ogarev. In 1862, another secret press at St.
Petersburg published revolutionary proclamations for officers of
the army; and in 1863, there were published in the same city a
few copies of the daily Papers, "Svoboda" (Liberty) and "Zemlja
i Volja" (The Earth and Liberty); the latter continued to be
published in 1878 and 1879, under the editorship, at first, of
Marco Natanson, and later of the student, Alexander Mihailov,
one of the ablest organizers of Nihilism. In 1866, a student of
Kazan, Elpidin, published two numbers of the "Podpolnoe Slovo",
which was succeeded by the daily paper, the "Sovremennost" (The
Contemporary), and later, by the "Narodnoe Delo" (The National
Interest), which was published (1868-70), to disseminate the
ideas of Bakunin. Two numbers of the "Narodnaja Rasprava" (The
Tribunal of Reason) were published in 1870, at St. Petersburg
and at Moscow. In 1873, appeared the "Vpred" (Forward!), one of
the most esteemed periodicals of Nihilism, having salient
socialistic tendencies. A volume of it appeared each year. In
1875-76, there was connected with the "Vpred", a small
bi-monthly supplement, which was under the direction of Lavrov
until 1876, when it passed under the editorship of Smironv, and
went out of existence in the same year. It attacked theological
and religious ideas, proclaiming the equality of rights, freedom
of association, and justice for the proletariat. At Geneva, in
1875 and 1876, the "Rabotnik" (The Workman) was published, which
was edited in the style of the people; the "Nabat" (The Tocsin)
appeared in 1875, directed by Thacev; the "Narodnaja Volja" (The
Will of the People), in 1879, and the "Cernyi Peredel", in 1880,
were published in St. Petersburg. There was no fixed date for
any of these papers, and their contents consisted, more
especially, of proclamations, of letters from revolutionists,
and at times, of sentences of the Executive Committees. These
printing offices also produced books and pamphlets and Russian
translations of the works of Lassalle, Marx, Proudhon, and
Büchner. A government stenographer, Myskin, in 1870, established
a printing office, through which several of Lassalle's works
were published; while many pamphlets were published by the
Zemlja i Volja Committee and by the Free Russian Printing
Office. Some of the pamphlets were published under titles like
those of the books for children, for example, "Deduska Egor"
(Grandfather Egor), Mitiuska", Stories for the Workingmen, and
others, in which the exploitation of the people was deplored,
and the immunity of capitalists assailed. Again, some
publications were printed in popular, as well as in cultured,
language; and, in order to allure the peasants these pamphlets
appeared at times, under such titles as "The Satiate and the
Hungry"; "How Our Country Is No Longer Ours". But all this
propaganda, which required considerable energy and sacrifice,
did not produce satisfactory results. Nihilism did not penetrate
the masses; its enthusiastic apostles committed acts of
imprudence that drew upon them the ferocious reprisals of the
Government; the peasants had not faith in the preachings of
those teachers, whom, at times, they regarded as government
spies, and whom, at times, they denounced. The books and
pamphlets that were distributed among the country people often
fell into the hands of the cinovniki (government employees), or
of the popes. Very few of the peasants knew how to read.
Accordingly, Nihilism had true adherents only among students of
the universities and higher schools, and among the middle
classes. The peasants and workmen did not understand its ideals
of destruction and of social revolution.
NIHILIST TERRORISM
Propagation of ideas was soon followed by violence: 4 April,
1866, Tsar Alexander II narrowly escaped the shot fired by
Demetrius Karakozov, and in consequence took severe measures
(rescript of 23 May, 1866) against the revolution, making the
universities and the press objects of special vigilance. To
avoid detection and spying, the Nihilists formed a Central
Executive Committee whose sentences of death were executed by
"punishers". Sub-committees of from five to ten members were
also organized and statutes (12 articles) drawn up. The
applicant for admission was required to consecrate his life to
the cause, sever ties of family and friendship, and observe
absolute secrecy. Disobedience to the head of the association
was punishable with death. The Government, in turn, enacted
stringent laws against secret societies and brought hundreds
before the tribunals. A notable instance was the trial, at St.
Petersburg in October, 1877, of 193 persons: 94 went free, 36
were sent to Siberia; the others received light sentences. One
of the accused, Myskin by name, who in addressing the judges had
characterized the procedure as "an abominable comedy", was
condemned to ten years of penal servitude. Another sensational
trial (April, 1878) was that of Vera Sassulio, who had attempted
to murder General Frepov, chief of police of St. Petersburg. Her
acquittal was frantically applauded and she found a refuge in
Switzerland. Among the deeds of violence committed by Nihilists
may be mentioned the assassination of General Mezencev (4 Aug.,
1878) and Prince Krapotkin (1879). These events were followed by
new repressive measures on the part of the Government and by
numerous executions. The Nihilists, however, continued their
work, held a congress at Lipeck in 1879, and (26 Aug.) condemned
Alexander II to death. An attempt to wreck the train on which
the Tsar was returning to St. Petersburg proved abortive.
Another attack on his life was made by Halturin, 5 Feb., 1880.
He was slain on 1 March 1881, by a bomb, thrown by Grineveckij.
Six conspirators, among them Sofia Perovskaja, were tried and
executed. On 14 March, the Zemlja i Volja society issued a
proclamation inciting the peasants to rise, while the Executive
Committee wrote to Alexander III denouncing the abuses of the
bureaucracy and demanding political amnesty, national
representation, and civil liberty.
The reign of Alexander III was guided by the dictates of a
reaction, due in great measure to the counsels of Constantine
Pobedonoscev, procurator general of the Holy Synod. And
Nihilism, which seemed to reach its apogee in the death of
Alexander II, saw its eclipse. Its theories were too radical to
gain proselytes among the people. Its assaults were repeated; on
20 March, 1882, General Strelnikov was assassinated at Odessa;
and Colonel Sudezkin on the 28th of December, 1883; in 1887, an
attempt against the life of the tsar was unsuccessful; in 1890,
a conspiracy against the tsar was discovered at Paris; but these
crimes were the work of the revolution in Russia, rather than of
the Nihilists. The crimes that reddened the soil of Russia with
blood in constitutional times are due to the revolution of
1905-07. But the Nihilism, that, as a doctrinal system,
proclaimed the destruction of the old Russia, to establish the
foundations of a new Russia, may be said to have disappeared; it
became fused with Anarchism and Socialism, and therefore, the
history of the crimes that were multiplied from 1905 on are a
chapter in the history of political upheavals in Russia, and not
in the history of Nihilism.
A. PALMIERI
Barthold Nihus
Barthold Nihus
Convert and controversialist, b. at Holtorf in Hanover, 7
February, 1590 (according to other sources in 1584 or 1589, at
Wolpe in Brunswick); d. at Erfurt, 10 March, 1657. He came from
a poor Protestant family, obtained his early education at Verden
and Goslar, and from 1607 studied philosophy and medicine at the
University of Helmstedt, where, on account of his poverty, he
was the famulus of Cornelius Martini, professor of philosophy.
Having become master of philosophy in 1612, his inclinations
then led him to study Protestant theology. Contentions among the
professors at Helmstedt made further stay there unpleasant, and
when two students of noble family went in 1616 to the University
of Jena, he accompanied them as preceptor. Later he became
instructor of the young princes of Saxe-Weimar among whom was
the subsequently famous Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar. The inability
of the Protestant theologians to agree upon vital questions
caused him first to doubt and then to renounce Protestantism. He
went to Cologne in 1622, and entered the House of Proselytes
founded by the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross; in the same year
he accepted the Catholic Faith and, after due preparation, was
ordained priest. Chosen director of the House of Proselytes, and
in 1627 provost of the nunnery of the Cistercians at
Althaldensleben near Magdeburg, two years later he became abbot
of the monastery of the Premonstratensians, from which he was
expelled after the battle of Breitenfeld in 1631. He fled to
Hildesheim where he became canon of the church of the Holy
Cross, thence to Holland where he came into close relation with
Gerhard Johann Vossius. In 1645 Nihus was called to Munster by
the papal nuncio, Fabio Chigi (later Alexander VII), then in
Munster attending the Westphalian Peace Congress. A few years
later he was induced to come to Mayence by Johann Philip von
Schonborn, Archbishop of Mayence, at whose request he went to
Ingolstadt in 1654 to obtain information regarding the
Welt-Priester-Institut of Bartholomew Holzhauser, and to report
to the archbishop. Schonborn, in 1655, appointed him his
suffragan bishop for Saxony and Thuringia, with residence in
Erfurt, where he died.
After his conversion Nihus had sent to the Helmstedt professors,
Calixtus and Hornejus, a letter in which he presented his
reasons for embracing Catholicism; his chief motive was that the
Church needs a living, supreme judge to explain the Bible and to
settle disputes and difficulties. Calixtus attacked him first in
his lectures and later in his writings, whence originated a
bitter controversy between Nihus and the Helmstedt professors.
The most important of Nihus' numerous writings are: (1) "Ars
nova, dicto S. Scripturae unico lucrandi e Pontificiis plurimos
in partes Lutheranorum, detecta non nihil et suggesta Theologis
Helmstetensibus, Georgio Calixto praesertim et Conrado Hornejo"
(Hildesheim, 1633); (2) "Apologeticus pro arte nova contra
Andabatam Helmstetensem" (Cologne, 1640), in answer to the
response of Calixtus to the first pamphlet: "Digressio de arte
nova contra Nihusium"; (3) "Hypodigma, quo diluuntur nonnulla
contra Catholicos disputata in Cornelii Martini tractatu de
analysi logica" (Cologne, 1648). Assisted by his friend Leo
Allatius (q.v.) he devoted considerable time to researches
pertaining to the "Communion" and the "Missa
praesanctificatorum" of the Greeks, and also took charge of the
editing and publishing of several works of Allatius, some of
which -- as the "De Ecclesiae occidentalis et orientalis
perpetua consensione" (Cologne, 1648) and "Symmicta" (Cologne,
1653) -- he provided with valuable additions and footnotes.
Koch, Die Erfurter Weihbischofe in Zeitschrift fur thuringische
Gesch., VI (Jena, 1865), 104-9; RASS, Die Convertiten seit der
Reformation, V (Freiburg im Br., 1867), 97-103; WESTERMAYER in
Kirchenlex, s. v.; IDEM in Allg. deutsche Biog., XXIII, 699 sq.
FRIEDRICH LAUCHERT
Nikolaus von Dinkelsbuhl
Nikolaus von Dinkelsbühl
Theologian, b c. 1360, at Dinkelsbühl; d. 17 March, 1433, at
Mariazell in Styria. He studied at the University of Vienna
where he is mentioned as baccalaureus in the faculty of Arts in
1385. Magister in 1390, he lectured in philosophy, mathematics,
and physics until 1397, and from 1402 to 1405. From 1397 he was
dean of the faculty; he studied theology, lecturing until 1402
on theological subjects, first as cursor biblicus, and later on
the "Sentences" of Peter Lombard. In 1405 he became bachelor of
Divinity, in 1408 licentiate, and in 1409 doctor and member of
the theological faculty. Rector of the university, 1405-6, he
declined the honor of a re-election in 1409. From 1405 he was
also canon at the cathedral of St. Stephen. The supposition of
several early authors that he was a member of the Order of the
Hermits of St. Augustine is incorrect, for he could not have
been rector of the university had he been a member of any order.
Eminent as teacher and pulpit orator, Nikolaus possessed great
business acumen, and was frequently chosen as ambassador both by
the university and the reigning prince. He represented Duke
Albert V of Austria at the Council of Constance (1414-18), and
the University of Vienna in the trial of Thiem, dean of the
Passau cathedral. When Emperor Sigismund came to Constance,
Nikolaus delivered an address on the abolition of the schism
("Sermo de unione Ecclesiae in Concilium Constantiense," II, 7,
Frankfort, 1697, 182-7). He took part in the election of Martin
V, and delivered an address to the new pope (Sommerfeldt,
"Historisches Jahrbuch", XXVI, 1905, 323-7). Together with John,
Patriarch of Constantinople, he was charged with the examination
of witnesses in the proceedings against Hieronymus of Prague.
Returning to Vienna in 1418, he again took up his duties as
teacher at the university, and in 1423 directed the theological
promotions as representative of the chancellor. Duke Albert V
having chosen him as his confessor in 1425, wished to make him
Bishop of Passau, but Nikolaus declined the appointment. During
the preparations for the Council of Basle, he was one of the
committee to draw up the reform proposals which were to be
presented to the council. His name does not appear thereafter in
the records of the university.
His published works include "Postilla cum sermonibus
evangeliorum dominicalium" (Strasburg, 1496), and a collection
of "Sermones" with tracts (Strasburg, 1516). Among his numerous
unpublished works, the manuscripts of which are chiefly kept in
the Court library at Vienna and in the Court and State library
at Munich, are to be mentioned his commentaries on the Psalms,
Isaias, the Gospel of St. Matthew, some of the Epistles of St.
Paul, the "Sentences" of Peter Lombard, and "Questiones
Sententiarum"; a commentary on the "Physics" of Aristotle,
numerous sermons, lectures, moral and ascetic tracts.
ASCHBACH, Gesch der Wiener Universitat, I (Vienna, 1865),
430-40; STANONIK in Allg. deut. Biog., XXIII (1886), 622 sq.;
ESSER in Kirchenlex., s. v. Nicolaus von Dinkelsbühl; HURTER,
Nomen., II (Innsbruck, 1906), 830-32.
FRIEDRICH LAUCHERT
Nikon
Nikon
Patriarch of Moscow (1652-1658; d. 1681). He was of peasant
origin, born in the district of Nishni-Novgorod in 1605, and in
early life was known as Nikita. Educated in a monastery, he
married, became a secular priest, and for a time had a parish in
Moscow. After ten years of married life, his children having
died, he persuaded his wife to become a nun and he entered the
Solovetski monastery on the White Sea, according to Orthodox
custom, changing his name to Nikon. In accordance also with a
common custom he next became a hermit on an island near by,
dependent on the monastery. But a disagreement about the alleged
misuse of some alms caused him to break with the Solovetski
monks and join the Kojeozerski community in the same
neighbourhood, of which he became hegumen in 1643. Later he made
a great impression on the emperor, Alexis, who made him
Archimandrite of the Novospaski Laura at Moscow in 1646, and in
1649 Metropolitan of Novgorod. Here he founded almshouses,
distinguished himself by his many good works, and succeeded in
putting down a dangerous revolt in 1650. Meanwhile he was in
constant correspondence with the Tsar, at whose court he spent
part of each year. Already during this time he began to prepare
for a revision of the Slavonic Bible and Service books. In 1652
the Patriarch of Moscow died and Nikon was appointed his
successor.
As head of the Church of Russia Nikon set about many important
reforms. One of the first questions that engaged his attention
was the reunion of the Ruthenians (Little Russians) with the
Orthodox Church. When Poland held Little Russia, the Synod of
Brest (1596) had brought about union between its inhabitants and
Rome. Under Alexis, however, the tide turned; many Ruthenians
arose against Poland and united with Russia (1653). A result of
this was that the Russians were able without much difficulty to
undo the work of the Synod of Brest, and to bring the
Metropolitan of Kief with the majority of his clergy back to the
Orthodox Church. This greatly increased the extent of the
Russian patriarch's jurisdiction. Nikon was able to entitle
himself patriarch of Great, Little, and White Russia. During the
reign of Alexis, Nikon built three monasteries, one of which,
made after the model of the Anastasis and called "New
Jerusalem," is numbered among the famous Lauras of Russia.
The chief event of Nikon's reign was the reform of the service
books. The Bible and books used in church in Russia are
translated from Greek into old Slavonic. But gradually many
mistranslations and corruptions of the text had crept in. There
were also details of ritual in which the Russian Church had
forsaken the custom of Constantinople. Nikon's work was to
restore all these points to exact conformity with the Greek
original. This reform had been discussed before his time. In the
sixteenth century the Greeks had reproached the Russians for
their alterations, but a Russian synod in 1551 had sanctioned
them. In Nikon's time there was more intercourse with Greeks
than ever before, and in this way he conceived the necessity of
restoring purer forms. While Metropolitan of Novgorod he caused
a committee of scholars to discuss the question, in spite of the
patriarch Joseph. In 1650 a Russian theologian was sent to
Constantinople to inquire about various doubtful points. One
detail that made much trouble was that the Russians had learned
to make the sign of the cross with two fingers instead of three,
as the Greeks did. As soon as he became patriarch, Nikon
published an order introducing some of these reforms, which
immediately called forth angry opposition. In 1654 and 1655 he
summoned Synods which continued the work. Makarios, Patriarch of
Antioch, who came to Russia at that time was able to help, and
there was continual correspondence with the Patriarch of
Constantinople. At last, with the approval of the Greek
patriarchs, Nikon published the reformed service books and made
laws insisting on conformity with Greek custom in all points of
ritual (1655-1658). A new Synod in 1656 confirmed this,
excommunicated every one who made the sign of the cross except
with three fingers, and forbade the rebaptizing of Latin
converts (still a peculiarity of the Russian Church). This
aroused a strong party of opposition. The patriarch was accused
of anti- national sentiments, of trying to Hellenize the Russian
Church, of corrupting the old faith. Nikon's strong will would
have crushed the opposition, had he not, in some way not yet
clearly explained, fallen foul of the tsar. It is generally said
that part of his ideas of reform was to secure that the Church
should be independent of the state and that this aroused the
tsar's anger. In any case in the year 1658 Nikon suddenly fell.
He offered his resignation to the tsar and it was accepted. He
had often threatened to resign before; it seems that this time,
too, he did not mean his offer to be taken seriously. However,
he had to retire and went to his New Jerusalem monastery. A
personal interview with Alexis was refused. The patriarchate
remained vacant and Nikon, in spite of his resignation,
attempted to regain his former place. Meanwhile the opposition
to him became stronger. It was led by a Greek, Paisios
Ligarides, Metropolitan of Gaza (unlawfully absent from his
see), who insisted on the appointment of a successor at Moscow.
All Nikon's friends seem to have forsaken him at this juncture.
Ligarides caused an appeal to be made to the Greek patriarchs
and their verdict was against Nikon. In 1664 he tried to force
the situation by appearing suddenly in the patriarchal church at
Moscow and occupying his place as if nothing had happened. But
he did not succeed, and in 1667 a great synod was summoned to
try him. The Patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch came to Russia
expressly for this synod; a great number of Russian and Greek
metropolitans sat as judges. The tsar himself appeared as
accuser of his former friend. Nikon was summoned and appeared
before the synod in his patriarch's robes. He was accused of
neglecting his duties since 1658, of having betrayed his Church
in a certain letter he had writtten to the Patriarch of
Constantinople (in which he had complained of the Russian
clergy), of harsh and unjust conduct in his treatment of the
bishops. Nikon defended himself ably; the synod lasted a week;
but at last in its eighth session it declared him deposed from
the patriarchate, suspended from all offices but those of a
simple monk, and sentenced him to confinement in a monastery
(Therapontof) on the White Sea. The archimandrite of the Trinity
Laura at Moscow, Joasaph, was elected his successor (Joasaph II,
1667-72). Joasaph confirmed Nikon's reform of the Service books
and rites. The party that opposed it formed the beginning of the
Russian dissenting sects (the Raskolniks).
For a time Nikon's imprisonment was very severe. In 1675 he was
taken to another monastery (of St. Cyril) and his treatment was
lightened. Alexis towards the end of his life repented of his
harsh treatment of the former patriarch, and from his death-bed
(1767) sent to ask his forgiveness. The next tsar, Feodor II
(1676-82) allowed him to return to his New Jerusalem monastery.
On the way thither Nikon died (17 August, 1681). He was buried
with the honours of a patriarch, and all decrees against him
were revoked after his death. His tomb is in the Cathedral
church of Moscow. Nikon's fall, the animosity of the tsar, and
of the synod that deposed him remain mysterious. The cause was
not his reform of the Service books, for that was maintained by
his successor. It has been explained as a successful intrigue of
his personal enemies at the court. He certainly had made enemies
during his reign by his severity, his harsh manner, the
uncompromising way he carried out his reforms regardless of the
intensely conservative instinct of his people. Or, it has been
said, Nikon brought about his disgrace by a premature attempt to
free the Russian Church from the shackles of the state. His
attitude represented an opposition to the growing Erastianism
that culminated soon after his time in the laws of Peter the
Great (1689-1725). This is no doubt true. There are sufficient
indications that Alexis' quarrel with Nikon was based on
jealousy. Nikon wanted to be too independent of the tsar, and
this independence was concerned, naturally, with ecclesiastical
matters. Some writers have thought that the root of the whole
matter was that he became at the end of his reign a Latinizer,
that he wanted to bring about reunion with Rome and saw in that
reunion the only safe protection for the Church against the
secular government. It has even been said that he became a
Catholic (Gerebtzoff, "Essai", II, 514). The theory is not
impossible. Since the Synod of Brest the idea of reunion was in
the air; Nikon had had much to do with Ruthenians; he may at
last have been partly convinced by them. And one of the
accusations against him at his trial was that of Latinizing. A
story is told of his conversion by a miracle worked by Saint
Josaphat, the great martyr for the union. In any case the real
reason of Nikon's fall remains one of the difficulties of
Russian Church history. He was undoubtedly the greatest bishop
Russia has yet produced. A few ascetical works of no special
importance were written by him.
Palmer, The Patriarch and the Tsar (6 vols., London, 1871- 76);
Surbotin, The Trial of Nikon, in Russian (Moscow, 1862);
Makarios, The Patriarch Nikon, Russian (Moscow, 1881); Philaret,
Geschichte der Kirche Russlands, German tr. by Blumenthal
(Frankfort, 1872); Mouravieff, A History of the Church of
Russia, English tr. by Blackmore (Oxford, 1842); Nikon in Lives
of Eminent Russian Prelates (no author) (London, 1854);
Gerebtzoff, Essai sur l'histoire de la civilisation en Russie
(Paris, 1858).
Adrian Fortescue
Nikolaus Nilles
Nikolaus Nilles
Born 21 June, 1828, of a wealthy peasant family of Rippweiler,
Luxemburg; died 31 January, 1907. After completing his gymnasium
studies brilliantly, he went to Rome where from 1847 to 1853, as
a student of the Collegium Germanicum, he laid the foundation of
his ascetic life and, as a pupil of the Gregorian University,
under the guidance of distinguished scholars (Ballerini,
Franzelin, Passaglia, Perrone, Patrizi, Schrader, Tarquini),
prepared the way for his subsequent scholarly career. When he
left Rome in 1853, he took with him, in addition to the double
doctorate of theology and canon law, two mementoes which lasted
throughout his life: his grey hair and a disease of the heart,
the result of the terrors which he had encountered in Rome in
the revolutionary year 1848-9. From 1853 to 1858 he labored in
his own country as chaplain and parish priest, and during this
time made his first literary attempts. In March, 1858, he
entered the Austrian Province of the Society of Jesus and, in
the autumn of 1859, was summoned by his superiors to Innsbruck
to fill the chair of canon law in the theological faculty, which
Emperor Francis Joseph I had shortly before entrusted to the
Austrian Jesuits. Nilles lectured throughout his life -- after
1898 usually to the North American theologians, to whom he gave
special instructions on canonical conditions in their country,
for which task no one was better qualified than he. His
"Commentaria in Concilium Baltimorense tertium" (1884-90) and
his short essay, "Tolerari potest", gained him a wide
reputation.
His literary achievements in the fields of canon law, ascetics,
and liturgy were abundant and fruitful. Martin Blum enumerates
in his by no means complete bibliography fifty-seven works, of
which the two principal are: "De rationibus festorum
sacratissimi Cordis Jesu et purissimi Cordis Mariae libri
quatuor" (2 vols., 5th ed., Innsbruck, 1885) and "Kalendarium
manuale utriusque Ecclesiae orientalis et occidentalis" (2
vols., 2nd ed., Innsbruck, 1896). Through the latter work he
became widely known in the world of scholars. In particular
Protestants and Orthodox Russians expressed themselves in terms
of the highest praise for the Kalendarium or Heortologion.
Professor Harnack of Berlin wrote of it in the " "Theologische
Literaturzeitung" (XXI, 1896, 350-2): "I have . . . frequently
made use of the work . . . and it has always proved a reliable
guide. whose information was derived from original sources.
There is scarcely another scholar as well versed as the author
in the feasts of Catholicism. His knowledge is based not only on
his own observations, but on books periodicals, papers, and
calendars of the past and present. The Feasts of Catholicism!
The title is self-explanatory; yet, though the basis of these
ordinances is uniform, the details are of infinite variety,
since the work treats not only of the Latin but also of the
Eastern Rites. The latter, it is well known, are divided into
Greek, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian . . . Of the second volume
Harnack wrote (ibid., XXXIII, 1898, 112 sq.). "Facts which
elsewhere would have to be sought under difficulties are here
marshaled in lucid order, and a very carefully arranged index
facilitates inquiry. Apart from the principal aim of the work,
it offers valuable information concerning recent Eastern
Catholic ecclesiastical history, also authorities and literature
useful to the historian of liturgy and creeds. . . . His arduous
and disinterested toil will be rewarded by the general
gratitude, and his work will long prove useful not only to every
theo- logian 'utriusque', but also 'cuiusque ecclesiae'". The
Roumanian Academy at Bucharest awarded a prize to this work.
Soon after the appearance of the second edition of the
"Kalendarium", the Russian Holy Synod issued from the synodal
printing office at Moscow a "Festbilderatlas" intended to a
certain extent as the official Orthodox illustrations for the
work. Nilles was not only a distinguished university professor,
but also a meritorious director of ecclesiastical students. For
fifteen years (1860-75) he presided over the theological
seminary of Innsbruck, an international institution where young
men from all parts of Europe and the United States are trained
for the priesthood.
Blum, Das Collegium Germanicum zu Rom. u. seine Zoglinge aus dem
Luxemburger Lande (Luxemburg, 1899); Zeitschr. fur kath. Theol.
(Innsbruck, 1907), 396 sqq.; Korrespondenzblatt des
Priester-Gebets-Verein, XLI (Innsbruck), 37 sqq.
M. HOFMANN
Nilopolis
Nilopolis
A titular see and a suffragan of Oxyrynchos, in Egypt. According
to Ptolemy (IV, v, 26) the city was situated on an island of the
Nile in the Heraclean nome. Eusebius ("Hist. eccl.", VI, xli)
states that it had a bishop, Cheremon, during the persecution of
Decius; others are mentioned a little later. "The Chronicle of
John of Nikiou" (559) alludes to this city in connection with
the occupation of Egypt by the Mussulmans, and it is also
referred to by Arabian medieval geographers under its original
name of Delas. In the fourteenth century it paid 20,000 dinars
in taxes, which indicates a place of some importance. At
present, Delas forms a part of the moudirieh of Beni-Suef in the
district of El-Zaouiet, and has about 2500 inhabitants of whom
nearly 1000 are nomadic Bedouins. It is situated on the left
bank of the Nile about forty-seven miles from Memphis.
LE QUIEN, Oriens christianus, II (Paris, 1741), 587; AMELINEAU,
La geographie de l'Egypte a l'epoque copte (Paris, 1893),
136-138.
S. VAILHÉ
St. Nilus
St. Nilus
( Neilos)
Nilus the elder, of Sinai (died c. 430), was one of the many
disciples and fervent defenders of St. John Chrysostom. We know
him first as a layman, married, with two sons. At this time he
was an officer at the Court of Constantinople, and is said to
have been one of the Prætorian Prefects, who, according to
Diocletian and Constantine's arrangement, were the chief
functionaries and heads of all other governors for the four main
divisions of the empire. Their authority, however, had already
begun to decline by the end of the fourth century.
While St. John Chrysostom was patriarch, before his first exile
(398-403), he directed Nilus in the study of Scripture and in
works of piety (Nikephoros Kallistos, "hist. Eccl.", XIV, 53,
54). About the year 390 (Tillemont, "Mémoires", XIV, 190-91) or
perhaps 404 (Leo Allatius, "De Nilis", 11-14), Nilus left his
wife and one son and took the other, Theodulos, with him to
Mount Sinai to be a monk. They lived here till about the year
410 (Tillemont, ib., p. 405) when the Saracens, invading the
monastery, took Theodulos prisoner. The Saracens intended to
sacrifice him to their gods, but eventually sold him as a slave,
so that he came into the possession of the Bishop of Eleusa in
Palestine. The Bishop received Theodulos among his clergy and
made him door-keeper of the church. Meanwhile Nilus, having left
his monastery to find his son, at last met him at Eleusa. The
bishop then ordained them both priests and allowed them to
return to Sinai. The mother and the other son had also embraced
the religious life in Egypt. St. Nilus was certainly alive till
the year 430. It is uncertain how soon after that he died. Some
writers believe him to have lived till 451 (Leo Allatius, op.
cit., 8-14). The Byzantine Menology for his feast (12 November)
supposes this. On the other hand, none of his works mentions the
Council of Ephesus (431) and he seems to know only the beginning
of the Nestorian troubles; so we have no evidence of his life
later than about 430.
From his monastery at Sinai Nilus was a wellknown person
throughout the Eastern Church; by his writings and
correspondence he played an important part in the history of his
time. He was known as a theologian, Biblical scholar and ascetic
writer, so people of all kinds, from the emperor down, wrote to
consult him. His numerous works, including a multitude of
letters, consist of denunciations of heresy, paganism, abuses of
discipline and crimes, of rules and principles of asceticism,
especially maxims about the religious life. He warns and
threatens people in high places, abbots and bishops, governors
and princes, even the emperor himself, without fear. He kept up
a correspondence with Gaina, a leader of the Goths, endeavouring
to convert him from Arianism (Book I of his letters, nos. 70,
79, 114, 115, 116, 205, 206, 286); he denounced vigorously the
persecution of St. John Chrysostom both to the Emperor Arcadius
(ib., II, 265; III, 279) and to his courtiers (I, 309; III,
199).
Nilus must be counted as one of the leading ascetic writers of
the fifth century. His feast is kept on 12 November in the
Byzantine Calendar; he is commemorated also in the Roman
martyrology on the same date. The Armenians remember him, with
other Egyptian fathers, on the Thursday after the third Sunday
of their Advent (Nilles, "Kalendarium Manuale", Innsbruck, 1897,
II, 624).
The writings of St. Nilus of Sinai were first edited by Possinus
(Paris, 1639); in 1673 Suarez published a supplement at Rome;
his letters were collected by Possinus (Paris, 1657), a larger
collection was made by Leo Allatius (Rome, 1668). All these
editions are used in P. G., LXXIX. The works are divided by
Fessler-Jungmann into four classes:
+ (1) Works about virtues and vices in general: -- "Peristeria"
(P. G., LXXIX, 811-968), a treatise in three parts addressed
to a monk Agathios; "On Prayer" (peri proseuches, ib.,
1165-1200); "Of the eight spirits of wickedness" (peri ton
th'pneumaton tes ponerias, ib., 1145-64); "Of the vice opposed
to virtues" (peri tes antizygous ton areton kakias, ib.,
1140-44); "Of various bad thoughts" (peri diapsoron poneron
logismon, ib., 1200-1234); "On the word of the Gospel of
Luke", xxii, 36 (ib., 1263-1280).
+ (2) "Works about the monastic life": -- Concerning the
slaughter of monks on Mount Sinai, in seven parts, telling the
story of the author's life at Sinai, the invasion of the
Saracens, captivity of his son, etc. (ib., 590-694);
Concerning Albianos, a Nitrian monk whose life is held up as
an example (ib., 695-712); "Of Asceticism" (Logos asketikos,
about the monastic ideal, ib., 719-810); "Of voluntary
poverty" (peri aktemosynes, ib., 968-1060); "Of the
superiority of monks" (ib., 1061-1094); "To Eulogios the monk"
(ib., 1093-1140).
+ (3) "Admonitions" (Gnomai) or "Chapters" (kephalaia), about
200 precepts drawn up in short maxims (ib., 1239-62). These
are probably made by his disciples from his discourses.
+ (4) "Letters": -- Possinus published 355, Allatius 1061
letters, divided into four books (P. G., LXXIX, 81-585). Many
are not complete, several overlap, or are not really letters
but excerpts from Nilus' works; some are spurious.
Fessler-Jungmann divides them into classes, as dogmatic,
exegetical, moral, and ascetic. Certain works wrongly
attributed to Nilus are named in Fessler-Jungmann, pp. 125-6.
NIKEPHOROS KALLISTOS, Hist. Eccl., XIV, xliv; LEO ALLATIUS,
Diatriba de Nilis et eorum scriptis in his edition of the
letters (Rome, 1668); TILLEMONT, Mémoires pour servir à
l'histoire ecclésiastique, XIV (Paris, 1693-1713), 189-218;
FABRICIUS-HARLES, Bibliotheca groeca, X (Hamburg, 1790-1809),
3-17; CEILLIER, Histoire générale des auteurs sacrés, XIII
(Paris, 1729-1763), iii; FESSLER-JUNGMANN, Institutiones
Patrologioe, II (Innsbruck, 1896), ii, 108-128.
ADRIAN FORTESCUE.
Nilus the Younger
Nilus the Younger
Of Rossano, in Calabria; born in 910, died 27 December, 1005.
For a time he was married (or lived unlawfully); he had a
daughter. Sickness brought about his conversion, however, and
from that time he became a monk and a propagator of the rule of
St. Basil in Italy. He was known for his ascetic life, his
virtues, and theological learning. For a time he iisred as a
hermit, later he spent certain periods of his life at various
monasteries which he either founded or restored. He was for some
time at Monte Cassino, and again at the Alexius monastery at
Rome. When Gregory V (966-999) was driven out of Rome, Nilus
opposed the usurpation of Philogatos (John) of Piacenza as
antipope. Later when Philogatos was tortured and mutilated he
reproached Gregory and the Emperor Otto III (993-1002) for this
crime. Nilus' chief work was the foundation of the famous Greek
monastery of Grottaferrata, near Frascati, of which he is
counted the first abbot. He spent the end of his life partly
there and partly in a hermitage at Valleluce near Gaeta. His
feast is kept on 26 September, both in the Byzantine Calendar
and the Roman martyrology.
ADRIAN FORTESCUE
Nimbus
Nimbus
(Latin, related to Nebula, nephele, properly vapour, cloud), in
art and archaeology signifies a shining light implying great
dignity. Closely related are the halo, glory, and aureole.
IN NATURE
All such symbols originate in natural phenomena, scientifically
accounted for in textbooks on physics. There are circular
phenomena of light in drops or bubbles of water and in ice
crystals which by the refraction of light reveal in greater or
less degree the spectral colours. Of the accompanying phenomena
the horizontal and vertical diameters, the "column of light",
may be mentioned. The curious rings of light or colour similar
to the above, which often form themselves before the iris of the
eye even in candle light, are more gorgeous on the mountain mist
(Pilatus, Rigi, and Brocken), if the beholder has the sun behind
him; they surround his shadow as it is projected upon the
clouds. The dewdrops in a meadow can produce an appearance of
light around a shadow, without, however, forming distinct
circles. Occasionally one even sees the planet Venus veiled by a
disc of light. The phenomena of discs and broad rings are more
usual in the sun and moon. The Babylonians studied them
diligently (Kugler, "Sternkunde und Sterndienst in Babel", II,
1). The terminology of these phenomena is vague. The disc or
circle around the sun can be correctly called "anthelia", and
the ring around the moon "halo". A more usual name is "aureole",
which in a restricted sense means an oval or elliptical ray of
light like a medallion. If the brightness is merely a luminous
glow without definitely forming ring, circle. or ellipse, it is
usually spoken of as a "glory". The types in nature in which
rays or beams of light with or without colour challenge
attention, suggested the symbolical use of the nimbus to denote
high dignity or power. It is thus that Divine characteristics
and the loftiest types of humanity were denoted by the nimbus.
IN POETRY
In poetry, this symbol of light is chiefly used in the form of
rays and flames or a diffused glow. The Bible presents the best
example: God is Light. The Son of God, the Brightness of His
Father's glory (Hebr., i, 3). An emerald light surrounds God and
His throne (Apoc., iv, 3), and the Son of Man seems to the
prophet a flame of fire (Apoc., i, 14 sq.). So also He appeared
in His Transfiguration on Tabor. On Sinai, God appeared in a
cloud which at once concealed and revealed Him (Ex., xxiv, 16,
sq.) and even the countenance of Moses shone with a marvellous
light in the presence of God (Ex., xxxiv, 29, sq.). Such
descriptions may have influenced Christian artists to
distinguish God and the saints by means of a halo, especially
around the head. They were also familiar with the descriptions
of the classical poets whose gods appeared veiled by a cloud; e.
g. according to Virgil, divinity appears "nimbo circumdata,
succincta, effulgens" (bathed in light and shining through a
cloud).
IN ART
In the plastic arts (painting and sculpture) the symbolism of
the nimbus was early in use among the pagans who determined its
form. In the monuments of Hellenic and Roman art, the heads of
the gods, heroes, and other distinguished persons are often
found with a disc-shaped halo, a circle of light, or a
rayed-fillet. They are, therefore, associated especially with
gods and creatures of light such as the Phoenix. The disc of
light is likewise used in the Pompeian wall paintings to typify
gods and demigods only, but later, in profane art it was
extended to cherubs or even simple personifications, and is
simply a reminder that the figures so depicted are not human. In
the miniatures of the oldest Virgil manuscript all the great
personages wear a nimbus. The custom of the Egyptian and Syrian
kings of having themselves represented with a rayed crown to
indicate the status of demigods, spread throughout the East and
the West. In Rome the halo was first used only for deceased
emperors as a sign of celestial bliss, but afterwards living
rulers also were given the rayed crown, and after the third
century, although not first by Constantine, the simple rayed
nimbus. Under Constantine the rayed crown appears only in
exceptional cases on the coin, and was first adopted
emblematically by Julian the Apostate. Henceforth the nimbus
appears without rays, as the emperors now wished themselves
considered worthy of great honour, but no longer as divine
beings. In early Christian art, the rayed nimbus as well as the
rayless disc were adopted in accordance with tradition. The sun
and the Phoenix received, as in pagan art, a wreath or a rayed
crown, also the simple halo. The latter was reserved not only
for emperors but for men of genius and personifications of all
kinds, although both in ecclesiastical and profane art, this
emblem was usually omitted in ideal figures. In other cases the
influence of ancient art tradition must not be denied.
The Middle Ages scarcely recognized such influence, and were
satisfied to refer to the Bible as an example for wreath and
crown or shield shaped discs as marks of honour to holy
personages. Durandus writes:
"Sic omnes sancti pinguntur coronati, quasi dicerunt. Filiae
Jerusalem, venite et videte martyres cum coronis quibus coronavit
eas Dominus. Et in Libro Sapientiae: Justi accipient regnum decoris
et diadema speciei de manu Domini. Corona autem huiusmodi depingitur
in forma scuti rotundi, quia sancti Dei protectione divina fruuntur,
unde cantant gratulabundi: Domine ut scuto bonae voluntatis tuae
coronasti nos" (Thus all the saints are depicted, crowned as if they
would say: O Daughters of Jerusalem, come and see the martyrs with
the crowns with which the Lord has crowned them. And in the Book of
Wisdom: The Just shall receive a kingdom of glory, and a crown of
beauty at the hands of the Lord, and a crown of this kind is shown
in the form of a round shield. because they enjoy the divine
protection of the Holy God, whence they sing rejoicing: O Lord, Thou
hast crowned us with a shield of Thy goods-will.) (Rationale divin.
offic., I, 3, 19, sq.).
Furthermore the Middle Ages are almost exclusively accredited
with the extension of symbolism inasmuch as they traced,
sometimes felicitously, allusions to Christian truths in
existing symbols, of which they sought no other origin. Durandus
adds to the passage quoted above, the nimbus containing a cross,
usual in the figures of Christ, signifying redemption through
the Cross, and the square nimbus which was occasionally combined
with it in living persons, to typify the four cardinal virtues.
Judging by the principal monuments, however, the square nimbus
appears to be only a variant of the round halo used to preserve
a distinction and thus guard against placing living persons on a
par with the saints. The idea of the cardinal virtues, the
firmness of a squared stone, or the imperfection of a square
figure as contrasted with a round one was merely a later
development. In the cross nimbus the association of the nimbus
with an annexed cross must be conceded historical; but that this
cross is a "signum Christi crucifixi" Durandus probably
interprets correctly.
ORIGIN
As stated above the nimbus was in use long before the Christian
era. According to the exhaustive researches of Stephani it was
an invention of the Hellenic epoch. In early Christian art the
nimbus certainly is not found on images of God and celestial
beings, but only on figures borrowed from profane art, and in
Biblical scenes; in place of the simple nimbus, rays or an
aureole (with the nimbus) were made to portray heavenly glory.
Hence it follows that the Bible furnished no example for the
bestowal of a halo upon individual saintly personages. As a
matter of fact the nimbus, as an inheritance from ancient art
tradition, was readily adopted and ultimately found the widest
application because the symbol of light for all divine, saintly
ideals is offered by nature and not infrequently used in
Scripture. In contemporary pagan art, the nimbus as a symbol of
divinity had become so indefinite, that it must have been
accepted as something quite new. The nimbus of early Christian
art manifests only in a few particular drawings, its
relationship with that of late antiquity. In the first half of
the fourth century, Christ received a nimbus only when portrayed
seated upon a throne or in an exalted and princely character,
but it had already been used since Constantine, in pictures of
the emperors, and was emblematic, not so much of divine as of
human dignity and greatness. In other scenes however, Christ at
that time was represented without this emblem. The "exaltation"
of Christ as indicated by the nimbus, refers to His dignity as a
teacher and king rather than to His Godhead. Before long the
nimbus became a fixed symbol of Christ and later (in the fourth
century), of an angel or a lamb when used as the type of Christ.
The number of personages who were given a halo increased
rapidly, until towards the end of the sixth century the use of
symbols in the Christian Church became as general as it had
formerly been in pagan art.
Miniature painting in its cycle represents all the most
important personages with haloes, just as did the Virgil codex,
so that the continuity of the secular and Christian styles is
obvious. This connection is definitively revealed when royal
persons, e.g., Herod, receive a nimbus. Very soon the Blessed
Virgin Mary always, and martyrs and saints usually, were crowned
with a halo. More rarely the beloved dead or some person
conspicuous for his position or dignity were so honoured. Saints
were so represented if they constituted the central figure or
needed to be distinguished from the surrounding personages. The
nimbus was used arbitrarily in personification, Gospel types,
and the like. Official representations clearly show a fixed
system, but outside of these there was great variety. Works of
art may be distinctly differentiated according to their
birthplace. The nimbus in the Orient seems to has e been in
general use at an early period, but whether it was first adopted
from ecclesiastical art is uncertain. In general the customs of
the East and West are parallel; for instance, in the West the
personifications appear with a nimbus as early as the third
century and Christ enthroned no later than in the East (in the
time of Constantine). Their nature makes it apparent that in
every department of plastic art the nimbus is more rarely used
than in painting.
FORM AND COLOUR
The form of the symbol was first definitely determined by
Gregory the Great who (about 600) permitted himself to be
painted with a square nimbus. Johannus Diaconus in his life of
the pope, gives the reason: "circa verticem tabulae
similitudinem, quod viventis insigne est, preferens, non
coronam" (bearing around his head the likeness of a square,
which is the sign for a living person, and not a crown.) (Migne,
"P.L.", 75, 231). It appears to have already been customary to
use the round nimbus for saints. In any event the few extant
examples from the following centuries show that, almost without
exception only the living, principally ecclesiastics, but also
the laity and even women and children, were represented with a
square nimbus. The aureole, that is the halo which surrounds an
entire figure, naturally takes the shape of an oval, though if
it is used for a bust, it readily resumes the circular form. The
radiation of light from a centre is essential and we must
recognize the circle of light of the sun-god in ancient art as
one of the prototypes of the aureole. The medallion form was for
a long time in use among the ancient Romans for the Imagines
clipeata. The gradations of colour in the aureole reveal the
influence of Apoc., iv, 3, where a rainbow was round about the
throne of God. Indeed, in very early times the aureole was only
used in representations of God as the Dove or Hand, or of Christ
when the divinity was to be emphatically expressed.
In early Christian times (as now) the round nimbus was by far
the most usual designation of Christ and the saints. The broad
circle is often replaced by the ring of light or a coloured
disc, especially on fabrics and miniatures. In pictures without
colour the nimbus is shown by an engraved line or a raised
circlet, often by a disc in relief. In the aureole blue
indicates celestial glory, and it is used in the nimbus to fill
in the surface, as are yellow, gray, and other colours while the
margins are sharply defined in different tints. In many haloes
the inner part is white. In mosaics, since the fifth and sixth
centuries, blue has been replaced by gold. From this period
also, the frescoes show a corresponding yellow as seen for
instance in paintings in the catacombs. Gold or yellow prevails
in miniatures, but there is a great deal of variety in
illustrated books. Blue as a symbol of heaven has the
preference, but gold, which later became the rule, gives a more
obvious impression of light. The explanation of the cross nimbus
variety is obvious. Since the sixth century it has characterized
Christ and the Lamb of God, but occasionally it is given to the
other Persons of the Trinity. In connection with it, in the
fourth and fifth centuries there was a monogram nimbus. The
cross and the monogram of Christ were beside or above the head
of Christ and the Lamb. In the fifth century they were brought
to the upper edge of the nimbus and finally both were
concentrically combined with it. In more recent times the
monogram and the monogram nimbus have become more rare. The
letters Alpha and Omega for Christ and M and A for Mary, were
intended for monograms and frequently accompanied the nimbus.
DEVELOPMENT
In order to understand the nimbus and its history, it is
necessary to trace it through the different branches of art. The
frescoes in the catacombs have a peculiar significance inasmuch
as they determine the period when the nimbus was admitted into
Christian art. The numerous figures lacking this symbol (Christ,
Mary, and the Apostles) show that before Constantine,
representations of specifically Christian character were not
influenced by art traditions. Only pictures of the sun, the
seasons, and a few ornamental heads carried a nimbus at that
date. The single exception is found in a figure over the
well-known "Ship in a Storm" of one of the Sacrament chapels.
But it is to be observed that in this case we are not dealing
with a representation of God, but merely with a personification
of heavenly aid, which marked a transition from personifications
to direct representations of holy personages. The figure seems
to be copied from pictures of the sun god. On the other hand,
several pictures of Christ in the catacombs, dating from the
fourth century, indicate the period when the nimbus was first
used in the way familiar to us. Besides the Roman catacombs
others, especially that of El Baghaouat in the great Oasis of
the Libyan desert, must be taken into account. For the period
succeeding Constantine, mosaics furnish important evidence since
they present not only very numerous and usually definite
examples of the nimbus, but have a more official character and
give intelligent portrayals of religious axioms. Although
allowance must be made for later restorations a constant
development is apparent in this field. The treatment of the
nimbus, in the illuminating and illustrating of books, was
influenced by the caprices of the individual artist and the
tradition of different schools. In textiles and embroidery the
most extensive use was made of the nimbus, and a rich colour
scheme was developed, to which these technical arts are by
nature adapted. Unfortunately the examples which have been
preserved are only imperfectly known and the dates are often
difficult to determine.
Sculpture presents little opportunity for the use of the nimbus.
In some few instances, indeed, the nimbus is painted on ivory or
wood carvings but more often we find it engraved or raised in
relief. Figures with this emblem are rare. On the sarcophagi we
find that Christ and the Lamb (apart from the sun) alone appear
with a circle or disc, the Apostles and Mary, never. In ivory
neither Mary nor Christ is so distinguished.
In the course of centuries the Christian idea that God,
according to Holy Scripture the Source of Light and Divine
things, must always be given a halo. became more pronounced.
This applied to the three Divine Persons and their emblems, as
the Cross, Lamb, Dove, Eye, and Hand; and since, according to
Scripture, saints are children of Light (Luke, xvi, 8; John,
xii, 36), as such they should share the honour. Preference was
shown for the garland or crown (corona et gloriae corona) of
Christ which was also bestowed by God as a reward upon the
saints, either spiritually in this life or in the Kingdom of
Heaven (Ps. xx, 4; Heb., ii, 7 sq.). Garlands and crowns of
glory are frequently mentioned in the Bible (I Peter v, 4;
Apoc., iv, 4, etc.). The nimbus also takes the form of a shield
to emphasize the idea of Divine protection (Ps. v, 13). A truly
classic authority for the explanation of the nimbus may be found
in Wis., v, 17: the Just shall "receive a kingdom of glory, and
a crown of beauty at the hands of the Lord: for with His right
hand He will cover them, and with His holy arm He will defend
them." (In Greek, "Holds the shield over them".) Whereas in
pagan art, the rayless nimbus signified neither holiness nor
Divine protection but merely majesty and power, in Christian art
it was more and more definitely made the emblem of such virtue
and grace, which emanating from God, extends over the saints
only. Urban VIII formally prohibited giving the nimbus to
persons who were not beatified. Since the eighteenth century the
word "halo" has been incorporated into the German language. In
Western countries John the Baptist is the only saint of the Old
Testament who is given a halo, doubtless because before his time
the grace of Christ had not yet been bestowed in its fullness.
We have already found that the aureole was be considered
exclusively a device of Christian art, especially as it was
reserved at first for the Divinity, and later extended only to
the Blessed Virgin. Instead of simple beams it often consists of
pointed flames or is shaded off into the colours of the rainbow.
This form as well as the simple nimbus, by the omission of the
circumference, may be transposed into a garland of rays or a
glory. A glory imitating the sun's rays was very popular for the
monstrances, in other respects the lunula suggests the nimbus
only because the costliness of the material enhances the lustre.
The aureole obtained the Italian name of mandorla from its
almond shape. In Germany the fish was agreed upon for the symbol
of Christ, or a fish bladder if it had the shape of a figure 8.
God the Father is typified in later pictures by an equilateral
triangle, or two interlaced triangles, also by a hexagon to
suggest the Trinity. If there is no circle around the cross
nimbus, the three visible arms of the cross give the same
effect. Occasionally the mandorla is found composed of seven
doves (type of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost), or of angels.
The latter are used in large pictures of the Last Judgment or
heaven, for instance in the "glories" of Italian domes. In
painting, haloes of cloud are sometimes used for delicate angel
heads, as in Raphael's works. Angels also form a nimbus around
the head of the Mother of God. She is also given the twelve
stars of Apoc., xii, 1. Saint John Nepomucene has five or seven
stars because of the great light which hovered over his body
when he was drowned in the Moldau by order of King Wenceslaus.
Artists have developed many varieties of the nimbus and aureole.
Since the Renaissance it has been fashioned more and more
lightly and delicately and sometimes entirely omitted, as the
artists thought they could suggest the characteristics of the
personage by the painting. It is true that the nimbus is not
intrinsically a part of the figure and at times even appears
heavy and intrusive. A distinguishing symbol may not, however,
be readily dispensed with and with the omission of this one the
images of the saints have often degenerated into mere genre
pictures and worldly types. A delicate circlet of light shining
or floating over the head does not lessen the artistic
impression, and even if the character of Christ or the Madonna
is sufficiently indicated in the drawing, yet it must be
conceded that the nimbus, like a crown, not only characterizes
and differentiates a figure but distinguishes and exalts it as
well.
G. GIETMANN
Nimes
Nîmes
(NEMAUSENSIS)
Diocese; suffragan of Avignon, comprises the civil Department of
Gard. By the Concordat of 1801 its territory was united with the
Diocese of Avignon. It was re-established as a separate diocese
in 1821 and a Brief of 27 April, 1877, grants to its bishops the
right to add Alais and Uzès to their episcopal style, these two
dioceses being now combined with that of Nîmes.
That Nîmes (Nemausus) was an important city in Roman antiquity
is shown by the admirable Maison Carrée, the remains of a superb
amphitheatre, and the Pont du Gard, four and a half leagues from
the city. Late and rather contradictory traditions attribute the
foundation of the Church of Nîmes either to Celidonius, the man
"who was blind from his birth" of the Gospel, or to St.
Honestus, the apostle of Navarre, said to have been sent to
southern France by St. Peter, with St. Saturninus (Sernin), the
apostle of Toulouse. The true apostle of Nîmes was St. Baudilus,
whose martyrdom is placed by some at the end of the third
century, and, with less reason, by others at the end of the
fourth. Many writers affirm that a certain St. Felix, martyred
by the Vandals about 407, was Bishop of Nîmes, but Duchesne
questions this. There was a see at Nîmes as early as 396, for in
that year a synodical letter was sent by a Council of Nîmes to
the bishops of Gaul. The first bishop whose date is positively
known is Sedatus, present at the Council of Agde in 506. Other
noteworthy bishops are: St. John (about 511, before 526); St.
Remessarius (633-40); Bertrand of Languissel (1280-1324),
faithful to Boniface VIII, and for that reason driven from his
see for a year by Philip the Fair; Cardinal Guillaume
d'Estouteville (1441-49); Cardinal Guillaume Briconnet
(1496-1514); the famous pulpit orator Fléchier (1687-1710); the
distinguished polemist Plantier (1855-75) whose pastoral letter
(1873) called forth a protest from Bismarck; the preacher Besson
(1875-88). Urban II, coming to France to preach the crusade,
consecrated the cathedral of Nîmes in 1096 and presided over a
council. Alexander III visited Nîmes in 1162. Clement IV
(1265-68), born at Saint Gilles, in this diocese, granted the
monastery of that town numerous favors. St. Louis, who embarked
at Aigues-Mortes for his two crusades, surrounded Nîmes with
walls. In 1305, Clement V passed through the city on his way to
Lyons to be crowned. In consequence of disputes about the sale
of grapes to the papal household, Innocent VI laid an interdict
on Nîmes in 1358. The diocese was greatly disturbed by the
Religious Wars: on 29 Sept., 1567, five years before the
Massacre of St. Bartholemew, the Protestants of Nîmes, actuated
by fanaticism, perpetrated the massacre of Catholics known in
French history as the Michelade. Louis XIII at Nîmes issued the
decree of religious pacification known as the Peace of Nîmes.
The first Bishop of Uzès historically known is Constantius,
present at the Council of Vaison in 442. Other bishops were St.
Firminus (541-53) and St. Ferreol (553-81). In the sixteenth
century, Bishop Jean de Saint Gelais (1531-60) became a
Calvinist. The celebrated missionary Bridaine (1701-67) was a
native of the Diocese of Uzès. This little city was for seventy
days the enforced residence of Cardinal Pacca, after his
confinement at Fenestrelles (1812). The town of Pont Saint
Esprit, on the Rhône, owes its names to a bridge built there
between 1265 and 1309 with the proceeds of a general collection
made by the monks.
About 570, Sigebert, King of Austrasia, created a see at
Arisitum (Alais) taking fifteen parishes from the Diocese of
Nîmes. In the eighth century, when Septimania was annexed to the
Frankish Empire, the Diocese of Alais was suppressed and its
territory returned to the Diocese of Nîmes. At the request of
Louis XIV, a see was again created at Alais by Innocent XII, in
1694. The future Cardinal de Bausset, Bossuet's biographer was
Bishop of Alais from 1784 to 1790. After the Edict of Nantes,
Alais was one of the places de sureté given to the Huguenots
(see HUGUENOTS, History). Louis XIII took back the town in 1629,
and the Convention of Alais, signed 29 June of that year,
suppressed the political privileges of the Protestants.
The chief pilgrimages of the present Diocese of Nîmes are: Notre
Dame de Grâce, Rochefort, dating from Charlemagne, and
commemorating a victory over the Saracens. Louis XIV and his
mother, Anne of Austria, established here a foundation for
perpetual Masses. Notre Dame de Grâce, Laval, in the vicinity of
Alais, dating from not later than 900. Notre Dame de Bon Secours
de Prime Combe, Fontanès, since 887. Notre Dame de Bonheur,
founded 1045 on the mountain of l'Aigoual in the vicinity of
Valleraugues. Notre Dame de Belvezet, a shrine of the eleventh
century, on Mont Andavu. Notre Dame de Vauvert, whither the
converted Albigenses were sent, often visited by St. Louis,
Clement V, and Francis I. The shrine of St. Vérédème, a hermit
who died Archbishop of Avignon, and of the martyr St. Baudilus,
at Trois Fontaines and at Valsainte near Nîmes. The following
Saints are especially venerated in the present Diocese of Nîmes:
St. Castor, Bishop of Apt (fourth to fifth century), a native of
Nîmes; the priest St. Theodoritus, martyr, patron saint of the
town of Uzès; the Athenian St. Giles (AEgidius, sixth cent.),
living as a recluse near Uzès when he was accidentally wounded
by King Childeric, later abbot of the monastery built by
Childeric in reparation for this accident, venerated also in
England; Blessed Peter of Luxemburg who made a sojourn in the
diocese, at Villeneuve-lez-Avignon (1369-87).
Prior to the Associations Law of 1901 the diocese had
Augustinians of the Assumption (a congregation which originated
in the city of Nîmes), Carthusians, Trappists, Jesuits,
Missionaries of the Company of Mary, Franciscan Fathers,
Marists, Lazarists, Sulpicians, and various orders of teaching
brothers. The Oblates of the Assumption, for teaching and
foreign missions, also founded here, and the Besancon Sisters of
Charity, teachers and nurses, have their mother-houses at Nîmes.
At the beginning of the century the religious congregations
conducted in this diocese: 3 creches, 53 day nurseries, 6 boys'
orphanages, 20 girls' orphanages, 1 employment agency for
females, 1 house of refuge for penitent women, 6 houses of
mercy, 20 hospitals or asylums, 11 houses of visiting nurses, 3
houses of retreat, 1 home for incurables. In 1905 the Diocese of
Nîmes contained 420,836 inhabitants, 45 parishes, 239 succursal
parishes, 52 vicariates subventioned by the State.
Gallia Christiana Nova, VI (1739), 426-516; 608-53, 1118-1121,
1123, and Instrumenta, 165-226, 293-312; DUCHESNE, Fastes
Episcopaux, I (1900), 299-302; GERMAIN, Histoire de l'eglise de
Nîmes (Paris, 1838-42); GOIFFON, Catalogue analytique des
eveques de Nîmes (1879); DURAND, Nemausiana, I (Nîmes, 1905);
BOULENGER, Les protestants a Nîmes au temps de l'edit de Nantes
(Paris, 1903); Roux, Nîmes (Paris, 1908); DURAND, L'eglise Ste
Marie, ou Notre Dame de Nîmes, basilique cathedrale (Nîmes,
1906); CHARVET, Catalogue des evegues d'Uzès in Memoires et
Comptes rendus de la Societe Scientifique d Alais, II (1870),
129-59; TAULELLE, L'abbaye d'Alais: histoire de S. Julien de
Valgalgue (Toulouse, 1905).
GEORGES GOYAU
Saint Ninian
St. Ninian
(NINIAS, NINUS, DINAN, RINGAN, RINGEN)
Bishop and confessor; date of birth unknown; died about 432; the
first Apostle of Christianity in Scotland. The earliest account
of him is in Bede (Hist. Eccles., III, 4): "the southern Picts
received the true faith by the preaching of Bishop Ninias, a
most reverend and holy man of the British nation, who bad been
regularly instructed at Rome in the faith and mysteries of the
truth; whose episcopal see, named after St. Martin the Bishop,
and famous for a church dedicated to him (wherein Ninias himself
and many other saints rest in the body), is now in the
possession of the English nation. The place belongs to the
province of the Bernicians and is commonly called the White
House [ Candida Casa], because he there built a church of stone,
which was not usual amongst the Britons". The facts given in
this passage form practically all we know of St. Ninian's life
and work.
The most important later life, compiled in the twelfth century
by St. Aelred, professes to give a detailed account founded on
Bede and also on a "liber de vita et miraculis eius" (sc.
Niniani) "barbarice scriptus", but the legendary element is
largely evident. He states, however, that while engaged in
building his church at Candida Casa, Ninian heard of the death
of St. Martin and decided to dedicate the building to him. Now
St. Martin died about 397, so that the mission of Ninian to the
southern Picts must have begun towards the end of the fourth
century. St. Ninian founded at Whithorn a monastery which became
famous as a school of monasticism within a century of his death;
his work among the southern Picts seems to have had but a short
lived success. St. Patrick, in his epistle to Coroticus, terms
the Picts apostates", and references to Ninian's converts having
abandoned Christianity are found in Sts. Columba and Kentigern.
The body of St. Ninian was buried in the church at Whithorn
(Wigtownshire), but no relics are now known to exist. The
"Clogrinny", or bell of St. Ringan, of very rough workmanship,
is in the Antiquarian Museum at Edinburgh.
G. ROGER HUDDLESTON
Joseph Nirschl
Joseph Nirschl
Theologian and writer, b. at Durchfurth, Lower Bavaria, 24
February, 1823; d. at Würzburg, 17 January, 1904. He was
ordained in 1851 and graduated as doctor of theology in 1854 at
Munich. He was appointed teacher of Christian doctrine at Passau
in 1855 and in 1862 professor of churoh history and patrology.
In 1879 he became professor of church history at Würzburg, and
was appointed dean of the cathedral in 1892. Of his numerous
works, mostly on patristics, the most important are: "Lehrbuch
der Patrologie und Patristik" (3 vols., Mainz, 1881-5);
"Ursprung und Wesen des Bosen nach der Lehre des hl. Augustinus"
(Ratisbon, 1854); "Das Dogma der unbefleckten Empfangnis Maria"
(Ratisbon, 1855); "Todesjahr des hl. Ignatius von Antiochien"
(Passau, 1869); "Die Theologie des hl. Ignatius von Antiochien"
(Passau, 1869, and Mainz, 1880); Das Haus und Grab der hl.
Jungfrau Maria (Mainz, 1900). He translated into German the
letters and the martyrium of St. Ignatius of Antioch (Kempten,
1870) and the Catecheses of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Kempten,
1871). He defended the genuineness of pseudo-Dionysius and of
the apocryphal letter of King Abgar of Edessa to Jesus.
LAUCHERT in Biogr. Jahrb. und deutscher Nekrolog (Vienna, 1904),
169 sq.
MICHAEL OTT
Nisibis
Nisibis
A titular Archdiocese of Mesopotamia, situated on the Mygdonius
at the foot of Mt. Masius. It is so old that its original name
is unknown. In any case it is not the Achad (Accad) of Genesis,
x, 10, as has been asserted. When the Greeks came to Mesopotamia
with Alexander they called it Antiochia Mygdonia, under which
name it appears for the first time on the occasion of the march
of Antiochus against the Molon (Polybius, V, 51). Subsequently
the subject of constant disputes between the Romans and the
Parthians, it was captured by Lucullus after a long siege from
the brother of Tigranes (Dion Cassius, xxxv, 6, 7); and by
Trajan in 115, which won for him the name of Parthicus (ibid.,
LXVIII, 23). Recaptured by the Osrhoenians in 194, it was again
conquered by Septimius Severus who made it his headquarters and
established a colony there (ibid., LXXV, 23). In 297, by the
treaty with Narses, the province of Nisibis was acquired by the
Roman Empire; in 363 it was ceded to the Persians on the defeat
of Julian the Apostate. The See of Nisibis was founded in 300 by
Babu (died 309). His successor, the celebrated St. James,
defended the city by his prayers during the siege of Sapor II.
At the time of its cession to the Persians, Nisibis was a
Christian centre important enough to become the ecclesiastical
metropolis of the Province of Beit-Arbaye. In 410 it had six
suffragan sees and as early as the middle of the fifth century
was the most important episcopal see of the Persian Church after
Seleucia-Ctesiphon. A great many of its Nestorian or Jacobite
titulars are mentioned in Chabot ("Synodicon orientale", Paris,
1902, 678) and Le Quien (Oriens christ., II, 995, 1195-1204) and
several of them, e. g. Barsumas, Osee, Narses, Jesusyab,
Ebed-Jesus, etc., acquired deserved celebrity in the world of
letters. Near Nisibis on 25 June, 1839, Ibrahim Pasha, son of
Mehemet Ali, Viceroy of Egypt, won a great victory over the
troops of Mahmud II. To-day Nezib is a town of 3000 inhabitants
in the sandjak of Orfa and the vilayet of Aleppo. Its oil is
considered very fine.
The first theological school of Nisibis, founded at the
introduction of Christianity into the town, was closed when the
province was ceded to the Persians, great persecutors of
Christianity. St. Ephraem reestablished it on Roman soil at
Edessa, whither flocked all the studious youth of Persia. In the
fifth century the school became a centre of Nestoriarnem.
Archbishop Cyrus in 489 closed it and expelled masters and
pupils, who withdrew to Nisibis. They were welcomed by Barsumas,
a former pupil of Edessa. The school was at once re-opened at
Nisibis under the direction of Narses, called the harp of the
Holy Ghost. The latter dictated the statutes of the new school.
Those which have been discovered and published belong to Osee,
the successor of Barsumas in the See of Nisibis, and bear the
date 496; they must be substantially the same as those of 489.
In 590 they were again modified. The school, a sort of Catholic
university, was established in a monastery and directed by a
superior called Rabban, a title also given to the instructors.
The administration was confided to a majordomo, who was steward,
prefect of discipline, and librarian, but under the supervision
of a council. Unlike the Jacobite schools, devoted chiefly to
profane studies, the school of Nisibis was above all a school of
theology. The two chief masters were the instructors in reading
and in the interpretation of Holy Scripture, explained chiefly
with the aid of Theodore of Mopsuestia. The course of studies
lasted three years and was entirely gratuitous; but the students
provided for their own support. During their sojourn at the
university, masters and students led a monastic life under
somewhat special conditions. The school had a tribunal and
enjoyed a civil personality, being able to acquire and possess
all sorts of property. Its rich library possessed a most
beautiful collection of Nestorian works; from its remains
Ebed-Jesus, Metropolitan of Nisibis in the fourteenth century,
composed his celebrated catalogue of ecclesiastical writers. The
disorders and dissensions, which arose in the sixth century in
the school of Nisibis, favoured the development of its rivals,
especially that of Seleucia; however, it did not really begin to
decline until after the foundation of the School of Bagdad
(832). Among its literary celebrities mention should be made of
its founder Narses; Abraham, his nephew and successor; Abraham
of Kashgar, the restorer of monastic life; John; Babai the
Elder; three catholicoi named Jesusyab.
SMITH, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, II (London,
1870), 440; GUIDI, Gli Statuti della Scuola di Nisibi in
Giornale della Società asiatica italiana, IV, 165-195; CHABOT,
L'Ecole de Nisibe. Son histoire, ses statuts (Paris, 1896);
LABOURT, Le christianisme dans l'empire perse (Paris, 1904),
passim; DUVAL, La littérature syriaque (Paris, 1899), passim;
CUINET, La Turquie d'Asie, II (Paris), 269.
S. VAILHÉ
Nithard
Nithard
Frankish historian, son of Angilbert and Bertha, daughter of
Charlemagne; died about 843 or 844 in the wars against the
Normans. Little is known about his early life, but in the
quarels between the sons of Louis the Pious he proved a zealous
adherent of Charles the Bald, by whose command he went as
ambassador to Lothair in 840, though without success. At the
battle of Fontenoy, in 841, he fought bravely at the side of
Charles, and afterwards wrote, at the request of that prince,
the history of the period in order to establish the right of
Charles the Bald. This work, which usually bears the title: "De
dissensionibus filiorum Ludovici Pii ad annum usque 843, seu
Historiarum libri quaattuor 841-843", recites in rather uncouth
language the causes of the quarrels and describes, minutely and
clearly, the unjust behaviour of Lothair, sometimes a little
partially, but with understanding and a clear insight into the
conditions. He was the only layman of his time who devoted
himself to the writing of a history, and he reported earnestly
and truthfully what he himself had seen and heard. It is very
probable that he was lay abbot of St. Riquier. His body was
buried there, and when it was found, in the eleventh century,
Mico, the poet of the abbey, composed a lengthy rhymed epitaph.
Nithard's historical work has been published by Migne in "P.
L.", CXVI, 45-76.
PATRICIUS SCHLAGER
Louis-Antoine de Noailles
Louis-Antoine de Noailles
Cardinal and bishop, b. at the Château of Teyssiére in Auvergne,
France, 27 May, 1651; d. at Paris, 4 May, 1729. His father,
first Duc de Noailles, was captain- general of Roussillon; his
mother, Louise Boyer, had been lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne of
Austria. Louis de Noailles studied theology at Paris in the
Collège du Plessis, where Fénelon was his fellow-student and
friend, and obtained his doctorate at the Sorbonne, 14 March,
1676. Already provided with the Abbey of Aubrac (Diocese of
Rodez), he was, in March, 1679, appointed to the Bishopric of
Cahors, and in 1680 transferred to Châlons-sur-Marne, to which
see a peerage was attached. He accepted this rapid removal only
at the formal command of Innocent XI. In this office he showed
himself a true bishop, occupying himself in all kinds of good
works. He confided his theological seminary to the Lazarists,
and founded a petit séminaire.
The regularity of his conduct, his family standing, and the
support of Mme de Maintenon induced Louis XIV to make him
Archbishop of Paris, 19 August, 1695. At Paris he was what he
had been at Châlons. Lacking in brilliant qualities, he was
possessed of piety, zeal, and activity. He was simple in manners
and accessible to poor and rich alike. In 1709 he sold his
silver plate to provide food for the famine-stricken. His
generosity towards churches was also remarkable, and he spent
large sums from his private fortune in decorating and improving
Notre-Dame. The decorum of public worship and the good conduct
of the clergy were the particular objects of his care. Inspired
more by customs prevalent in France than by the prescriptions of
the Council of Trent, he caused the Breviary, Missal, and other
liturgical books of Paris already published by his predecessor
de Harlay, to be reprinted. To these he added the Rituale, the
Ceremoniale, and a collection of canons for the use of his
Church. By decrees issued on his accession (June, 1696) he
imposed for the first time on aspirants to the ecclesiastical
state the obligation of residing in seminaries for several
months before ordination. He organized ecclesiastical
conferences throughout his diocese and conferences in moral
theology once a week at Paris; priests were obliged to make an
annual retreat, wise rules were drawn up for the good conduct
and regularity of all ecclesiastics, the Divine service, the
assistance of the sick, and the primary schools. Seminaries for
poor clerics were encouraged and supported, and one was founded
which served as a shelter for poor, old, or infirm priests.
While still Bishop of Châlons he took part in the conferences
held at Issy to examine the works of Mme Guyon. His part was
only secondary, but he succeeded in having the accused's entire
defence heard. Shortly afterwards he became involved in a
controversy with Fénelon concerning the latter's "Maximes des
Saints," which was condemned by the Bishops of Meaux, Chartres,
and de Noailles himself. In 1700 he was made a cardinal by
Innocent XII. Several months later de Noailles presided at the
General Assembly of the French clergy. This assembly exterted
great influence on the teaching of moral theology in France, and
after Bossuet no one had so great a share as de Noailles in its
decisions. He became prior of Navarre in 1704, head of the
Sorbonne in 1710, and honorary dean of the faculty of law.
Except for his attitude towards Jansenism the cardinal's career
would be deserving only of praise. He always denied being a
Jansenist, and condemned the five propositions constituting the
essence of Jansenism, but he always inclined, both in dogma and
morals, to opinions savouring of Jansenism; he favoured its
partisans and was ever hostile to the Jesuits and the
adversaries of the Jansenists. Shortly before his elevation to
the See of Paris he had approved (June 1695) the "Réflexions
morales" of Père Quesnel, an Oratorian already known for his
ardent attachment to Jansenism and destined soon to be its
leader. He earnestly recommended it to his priests. This
approbation was the source of all the cardinal's troubles.
Believing themselves thenceforth certain of his sympathy the
Jansenists, on de Noailles' elevation to the See of Paris,
published a posthumous work of de Barcos (q.v.), entitled
"Exposition de la foy", really the explanation and defence of
the Jansenistic doctrine of grace already condemned by Rome. De
Noailles condemned the book (20 August, 1696), at least in the
first part of his instruction, but in the second he set forth a
theory on grace and predestination closely resembling that of de
Barcos. No one was satisfied; the ordinance displeased both the
Jansenists and the Jesuits. The former did not fail to call
attention to the contradictory attitudes of the Bishop of
Châlons, who approved Quesnel, and the Archbishop of Paris, who
condemned de Barcos. An anonymous pamphlet published under the
title "Problème ecclésiastique", placed side by side twenty-nine
identical propositions which had been approved in the Quesnel's
work and condemned in de Barcos'. Parliament condemned the
lampoon to be burned; six months later it was put on the Index
(2 June, 1699) and proscribed by the Holy Office.
The controversies occasioned by the publication of the "Cas de
Conscience" and Quesnel's "Réflexions morales" (for which see
Jansenius, in Vol. VIII, 291-2) involved de Noailles deeply in
the Jansenist quarrel. In spite of repeated papal decisions of
the Holy See, the cardinal, for many years, would not accept the
Bull "Unigenitus". Finally he yielded in May, 1728, and on 11
October following published his unconditioned acceptance of the
Bull. He afterwards retracted various writings, which seemed to
cast doubt on the sincerity of his submission; he restored to
the Jesuits the faculties of which he had deprived them thirteen
years before. He died two months later, aged 78, regarded by all
with respect and esteem. His weak and uncertain character caused
him to offend everybody -- Jesuits and Jansenists, pope and
king, partisans and adversaries of the Bull "Unigenitus". He
lacked discernment in the choice of his confidants; he bore a
great name, and played an important part in his time, but lacked
many qualities of a great bishop. His works -- diocesan
ordinances and parochial instructions -- are mostly collected in
the "Synodicon ecclesiæ Parisiensis" (Paris, 1777).
De BarthÉlmy, Le card. de Noailles d'après sa correspondance
(Paris, 1886); Saint- Simon, Mémoires, ed. Boilisle, II (Paris,
1879); [Villefore], Anecdotes ou Mémoires secrets (s.l., 1730);
Lafitau, Réfutation des Anecdotes (Aix, 1734); Pigot, Mém. pour
servir à l'hist. ecclés. pendant le XVIII ^e siecle (Paris,
1853), I, II; [Guillon], Hist. gén. de l'église pendant le XVIII
^e siècle (Besançon, 1823); Le Roy, La France et Rome de 1700 à
1715 (Paris, 1892); CrouslÉ, Fénelon et Bossuet (Paris, 1895).
Antoine Degert
Robert De' Nobili
Robert de' Nobili
Born at Montepulciano, Tuscany, September, 1577; died at
Mylapore, India, in 1656. He entered the Society of Jesus in
1597, at Naples, and after a brilliant course of studies sailed
for the Indian mission in October, 1604, arriving at Goa, 20
May, 1605. After a short stay at Cochin and the Fishery Coast,
he was sent in November, 1606, to Madura to study Tamil. Within
a year he had acquired a complete mastery of Tamil, Telugu, and
Sanskrit. In his zeal to convert the Brahmins he adopted their
mode of life and so had to cut himself off completely from
intercourse with his fellow missionaries. He worked in Madura,
Mysore, and the Karnatic till old age and almost complete
blindness compelled him to retire to Mylapore. (For an account
of his missionary methods see MALABAR RITES.) De' Nobili
translated into Sanskrit or composed therein many prayers and
several longer works, especially an abridgment of Christian
Doctrine and a life of Our Lady, in Sanskrit verse. Nearly all
these productions were lost during his imprisonment in Madura
(1639-41). His principal work in Tamil is his "Larger
Catechism", in four books, printed after his death (partly
reprinted, Trichinopoly, 1891-1906). It is a course of theology
adapted to the needs of the country. In addition he wrote: "A
Treatise on the Eternal Life", "A Dialogue on the Faith", "A
Disproof of Transmigration", "A Manual of Rules of Perfection",
numerous hymns and several instructions not yet edited, two
small catechisms still in actual use, "The Science of the Soul",
and many prayers. He translated into Telugu several of his Tamil
works, among them the two small catechisms. In Tamil and Telugu
he enriched the vocabulary with appropriate Christian terms.
BERTRAND, La Mission du Madure (Paris, 1847); Lettres
edifiantes, Collection Martin, II, 263-66; for the pseudo-Veda,
or rather pseudo-Veda hoax, see Asiatic Researches, XIV (London,
1818), 35; pseudo-Vedas seem clearly a non-Christian production;
for diatribes on de' Nobili, see D'ORSAY, Portuguese Discoveries
(London, 1893), 254-58.
J. CASTETS
Daniel Noble
Daniel Noble
Physician, b. 14 Jan., 1810; d. at Manchester, 12 Jan, 1885. He
was the son of Mary Dewhurst and Edward Noble of Preston, a
descendant of an old Yorkshire Catholic family. Apprenticed to a
Preston surgeon named Thomas Moore, Noble was in time admitted a
member of the Royal College of Surgeons and a licentiate of
Apothecaries Hall. In 1834 he began to practise in Manchester,
and soon showed the special interest in mental disease which
afterwards distinguished his career. In the following year he
published his first work, "An Essay of the Means, physical and
moral, of estimating Human Character", the tendency of which is
indicated by the fact that he is described as President of the
Manchester Phrenological Society. His practise increased, and in
1840 he married Frances Mary Louisa Ward, of Dublin, they had
eight children, one of them Frances, the novelist. Cardinal
Wiseman stood sponsor to his eldest child. From the University
of St. Andrews he received the degrees of M.D. and M.A., and in
1867 he was elected a fellow of the College of Physicians. His
other works are: "Facts and Observationss relative to the
influence of manufactures upon health and life" (London, 1843);
"The Brain and its Physiology, a critical disquisition of the
methods of determining relations subsisting between the
structure and functions of the encephalon" (London, 1846);
"Elements of Psychological Medicine: an Introduction to the
practical study of Insanity" (London, 1853-55); "Three Lectures
on the Correlation of Psychology and Physiology" (London, 1854);
"The Human Mind in its relations with the Brain and Nervous
System" (London, 1858); "On certain popular fallacies concerning
the production of epidemic diseases" (Manchester, 1859); "On the
fluctuations in the death-rate" (Manchester, 1863); "Evanescent
Protestantism and Nascent Atheism, the modern religious problem"
(London, 1877); "On causes reducing the effects of sanitary
reform" (Manchester, 1878) and several contributions to various
medical journals, the best-known of which was a paper called
"Mesmerism True--Mesmerism False", which was translated into
German and Dutch.
GILLOW, Bibl. Dict. Eng. Cath., V, 181.
EDWIN BURTON
Nocera
Nocera
DIOCESE OF NOCERA (NUCERINENSIS)
Diocese in Perugia, Umbria, Italy, near the sources of the Tina,
famous for its mineral waters, especially the Fonte Angelica.
According to a legend, the first Bishop of Nocera was St.
Crispoldus, a disciple of the Apostles, but his Germanic name
renders this doubtful; more credible is the tradition of the
martyrdom of SS. Felix, Constance, and Felicissimus. The Bishops
Felix, to whom Pope Innocent addressed a letter in 402, and
Coelius Laurentius, the competitor of Pope Symmachus (498), were
not Umbrian prelates, but bishops of Nocera, near Naples (Savio,
"Civ. Cattol.", 1907). The first authentic Bishop was Liutardus
(824); other prelates were Blessed Rinaldo d'Antignano (1258)
and Blessed Filippo Oderisi (1285), monks of Fonte Avellana;
Blessed Alessandro Vincioli, O.M. (1363); Antonio Bolognini
(1438) restored the cathedral; Varino Favorino (1514), a noted
humanist; Gerolano Maunelli (1545), founder of the seminary;
Mario Battaglini (1690), diocesan historian; Francesco Luigi
Piervisani (1800), exiled in 1809 because he refused the oath of
allegiance to Napoleon. It is immediately dependent on Rome,
with 82 parishes; 59,731 inhabitants; 7 religious houses of men
and 9 of women.
CAPPELLETTI, Le Chiese d'Italia, VI.
U. BENIGNI
Nocera Dei Pagani
Nocera dei Pagani
(NUCERIN PAGANORUM; dei Pagani="of the Pagans")
Diocese in Salermo, Italy, at the foot of Mt. Albinio, on the
Sarno River; it was the Nuceria Alfaterna of the Nuvkrinum
coins, captured by Fabius maximus in the Samnite War (307), and
sacked by Hannibal (215). The appellation "of the pagans" dates
probably from the ninth century, because of a Saracen colony
established there with the connivance of the Dukes of Naples. In
1132 King Roger nearly destroyed the town because it took part
with Innocent II, and in 1382 Charles of Durazzo beseiged there
Urban VI. Nocera is the birthplace of Hugo de Paganis (Payus),
one of the founders of the Templars; St. Ludovico, Bishop of
Tolosa, a son of Charles II of Anjou; Tommaso de Acerno,
historian of Urban VI; and the painter Francesco Solimena. St.
Alphonsus Liguori founded his order there. At Nocera is the
sanctuary of Mater Domini, which contains the tomb of Charles I
of Anjou; the ancient church was rebuilt in the eleventh
century, and given to some hermits; Urban VIII gave it to the
Basilians, and when these were driven away in 1809 and 1829, it
came into the hands of the Franciscans. Among its bishops were
St. Priscus, the first bishop, not St. Priscus of Nola; and
Coelius Laurentius, competitor of Symmachus (498). In 1260 the
assassination of the bishop caused the suppression of the
diocese, but Urban VI restored it in 1386. Later bishops were
Giovanni Cerretani (1498), a jurist; the historian Paul Jovius
(1528), succeeded by his nephew Julius and his great-nephew
Paul, who rebuilt the episcopal palace; Simone Lunadoro (1602),
diocesan historian. United to the See of Cava in 1818, it was
reestablished in 1834. A suffragan of Salerno, it has 28
parishes; 60,350 inhabitants; 4 religious houses of men, and 11
of women; a school for boys, and 5 for girls.
CAPPELLETTI, Le Chiese d'Italia, XX.
U. BENIGNI
Nocturns
Nocturns
( Nocturni or Nocturna).
A very old term applied to night Offices. Tertullian speaks of
nocturnal gatherings (Ad. Uxor., II, iv); St. Cyprian, of the
nocturnal hours, "nulla sint horis nocturnis precum damna, nulla
orationum pigra et ignava dispendia" (De orat., xxix). In the
life of Melania the Younger is found the expression "nocturnæ
horæ", "nocturna tempora" (Anal. Bolland., VIII, 1889, pp. 49
sq.). In these passages the term signifies night prayer in
general and seems synonymous with the word vigiliæ. It is not
accurate, then, to assume that the present division of Matins
into three Nocturns represents three distinct Offices recited
during the night in the early ages of the Church. Durandus of
Mende (Rationale, III, n. 17) and others who follow him assert
that the early Christians rose thrice in the night to pray;
hence the present division into three Nocturns (cf. Beleth,
Rupert, and other authors cited in the bibliography). Some early
Christian writers speak of three vigils in the night, as
Methodius or St. Jerome (Methodius, "Symposion", V, ii, in P.
G., XVIII, 100); but the first was evening prayer, or prayer at
nightfall, corresponding practically to our Vespers of
Complines; the second, midnight prayer, specifically called
Vigil; the third, a prayer at dawn, corresponding to the Office
of Lauds. As a matter of fact the Office of the Vigils, and
consequently of the Nocturns, was a single Office, recited
without interruption at midnight. All the old texts alluding to
this Office (see Matins, Vigil) testify to this. Moreover, it
does not seem practical to assume that anyone, considering the
length of the Office in those days, could have risen to pray at
three different times during the night, besides joining in the
two Offices of eventide and dawn.
It was during the second period, probably in the fourth century,
that to break the monotony of this long night prayer the custom
of dividing it into three parts was introduced. Cassian in
speaking of the solemn Vigils mentions three divisions of this
Office (De coe;nob. instit., III, viii, in P. L., XLIX, 144). We
have here, we think, the origin of the Nocturns; or at least it
is the earliest mention of them we possess. In the "Peregrinatio
ad loca sancta", the Office of the Vigils, either for week-days
or for Sundays, is an uninterrupted one, and shows no evidence
of any division (cf. Cabrol, "Etude sur La Peregrinatio Sylviæ",
Paris, 1895, pp. 37 and 53). A little later St. Benedict speaks
with greater detail of this division of the Vigils into two
Nocturns for ordinary days, and three for Sundays and feast-days
with six psalms and lessons for the first two Nocturns, three
canticles and lessons for the third; this is exactly the
structure of the Nocturns in the Benedictine Office to-day, and
practically in the Roman Office (Regula, ix, x, xi). The very
expression "Nocturn", to signify the night Office, is used by
him twice (xv, xvi). He also uses the term Nocturna laus in
speaking of the Office of the Vigils. The proof which E. Warren
tries to draw from the "Antiphonary of Bangor" to show that in
the Celtic Church, according to a custom older than the
Benedictino-Roman practice, there were three separate Nocturns
of Vigils, is based on a confusion of the three Offices,
"Initium noctis", "Nocturna", and "Matutina", which are not the
three Nocturns, but the Office of Eventide, of the Vigil, and of
Lauds (cf. The Tablet, 16 Dec., 1893, p. 972; and Bäumer-Biron,
infra, I, 263, 264).
The division of the Vigils into two or three Nocturns in the
Roman Church dates back at least to the fifth century. We may
conjecture that St. Benedict, who, in the composition of the
monastic cursus, follows the arrangement of the Roman Office so
closely, must have been inspired equally by the Roman customs in
the composition of his Office. Whatever doubt there may be as to
priority, it is certain that the Roman system bears a strong
analogy to that of the Nocturns in the Benedictine Office even
at the present time, and the differences subsisting are almost
entirely the result of transformations or additions, which the
Roman Office has been subjected to in the course of time. On
Sundays and feast-days there are three Nocturns, as in the
Benedictine Office. Each Nocturn comprises three psalms, and the
first Nocturn of Sunday has three groups of four psalms each.
The ferial days have only one Nocturn consisting of twelve
psalms; each Nocturn has, as usual, three lessons. For the
variations which have occurred in the course of time in the
composition of the Nocturns, and for the different usages see
Matins. These different usages are recorded by Dom Marténe. For
the terms, "Nocturnales Libri", "Nocturnæ", see Du Cange,
"Glossarium infimæ latinitatis", s. vv.
See Matins; Vigil; Cassian, De coe;nob. instit. II, x; Beleth,
Rationale, xx; Liber Diurnus, P. L., CV, 71; Durandus of Mende,
Rationale, III, n. 7; Rupert, De div. oficiis, I, x; MartÉne, De
antiquis Monach. rit., IV, 4 sq.; Zaccaria, Onomasticon, 50, 51;
BÄumer- Biron, Histoire du Bréviare, I (Paris, 1905), 74 sq.,
78, 99, 263, 358-361, etc.
F. Carrol
Noah
Noah
[Hebrew Nôah, "rest"; Greek Noe; Latin Noe].
The ninth patriarch of the Sethite line, grandson of Mathusala
and son of Lamech, who with his family was saved from the Deluge
and thus became the second father of the human race (Genesis
5:25-9:29).
The name Noah was give to him because of his father's
expectation regarding him. "This same", said Lamech on naming
him, "shall comfort us from the works and labours of our hands
on [or more correctly "from", i.e. "which come from"] the earth,
which the Lord hath cursed." Most commentators consider Lamech's
words as an expression of a hope, or as a prophecy, that the
child would in some way be instrumental in removing the curse
pronounced against Adam (Genesis 3:17 sqq.). Others rather
fancifully see in them a reference to Noah's future discovery of
wine, which cheers the heart of man; whilst others again, with
greater probability, take them as expressing merely a natural
hope on the part of Lamech that his son would become the support
and comfort of his parents, and enable them to enjoy rest and
peace in their later years.
Amid the general corruption which resulted from the marriages of
"the sons of God" with "the daughters of men" (Genesis 6:2
sqq.), that is of the Sethites with the Cainite women, "Noah was
a just and perfect man in his generations" and "walked with God"
(6:9). Hence, when God decreed to destroy men from the face of
the earth, he "found grace before the Lord". According to the
common interpretation of Genesis 6:3, Noah first received divine
warning of the impending destruction one hundred and twenty
years before it occurred, and therefore when he was four hundred
and eighty years old (cf. 7:11); he does not seem, however, to
have received at this time any details as to the nature of the
catastrophe.
After he reached the age of five hundred years three sons, Sem,
Cham, and Japheth, were born to him (6:10). These had grown to
manhood and had taken wives, when Noah was informed of God's
intention to destroy men by a flood, and received directions to
build an ark in which he and his wife, his sons and their wives,
and representatives, male and female, of the various kinds of
animals and birds, were to be saved (6:13-21). How long before
the Deluge this revelation was imparted to him, it is impossible
to say; it can hardly have been more than seventy-five years
(cf. 7:11), and probably was considerably less.
Noah had announced the impending judgement and had exhorted to
repentance (II Peter 2:5), but no heed was given to his words
(Matthew 24:37 sqq.; Luke 17:26, 27; I Peter 3:20), and, when
the fatal time arrived, no one except Noah's immediate family
found refuge in the ark. Seven days before the waters began to
cover the earth, Noah was commanded to enter the ark with his
wife, his three sons and their wives, and to take with him seven
pairs of all clean, and two pairs of all unclean animals and
birds (7:1-4). It has been objected that, even though the most
liberal value is allowed for the cubit, the ark would have been
too small to lodge at least two pairs of every species of animal
and bird. But there can be no difficulty if, as is now generally
admitted, the Deluge was not geographically universal (see
DELUGE; ARK).
After leaving the ark Noah built an altar, and taking of all
clean animals and birds, offered holocausts upon it. God
accepted the sacrifice, and made a covenant with Noah, and
through him with all mankind, that He would not waste the earth
or destroy man by another deluge. The rainbow would for all
times be a sign and a reminder of this covenant. He further
renewed the blessing which He had pronounced on Adam (Genesis
1:28), and confirmed the dominion over animals which He had
granted to man. In virtue of this dominion man may use animals
for food, but the flesh may not be eaten with the blood
(8:20-9:17).
Noah now gave himself to agriculture, and planted a vineyard.
Being unacquainted with the effects of fermented grape-juice, he
drank of it too freely and was made drunk. Cham found his father
lying naked in his tent, and made a jest of his condition before
his brothers; these reverently covered him with a mantle. On
hearing of the occurrence Noah cursed Chanaan, as Cham's heir,
and blessed Sem and Japheth.
He lived three hundred and fifty years after the Deluge, and
died at the age of nine hundred and fifty years (9:20-29). In
the later books of Scripture Noah is represented as the model of
the just man (Eccliasticus 44:17; Ezechiel, 14:14, 20), and as
an exemplar of faith (Hebrews 11:7). In the Fathers and
tradition he is considered as the type and figure of the
Saviour, because through him the human race was saved from
destruction and reconciled with God (Ecclus., 44:17,18).
Moreover, as he built the ark, the only means of salvation from
the Deluge, so Christ established the Church, the only means of
salvation in the spiritual order.
The Babylonian account of the Deluge in many points closely
resembles that of the Bible. Four cuneiform recensions of it
have been discovered, of which, however, three are only short
fragments. The complete story is found in the Gilgamesh epic
(Tablet 11) discovered by G. Smith among the ruins of the
library of Assurbanipal in 1872. Another version is given by
Berosus. In the Gilgamesh poem the hero of the story is
Ut-napishtim (or Sit-napishti, as some read it, surnamed
Atra-hasis "the very clever"; in two of the fragments he is
simply styled Atra-hasis, which name is also found in Berosus
under the Greek form Xisuthros. The story in brief is as
follows: A council of the gods having decreed to destroy men by
a flood, the god Ea warns Ut-napishtim, and bids him build a
ship in which to save himself and the seed of all kinds of life.
Ut-napishtim builds the ship (of which, according to one
version, Ea traces the plan on the ground), and places in it his
family, his dependents, artisans, and domestic as well as wild
animals, after which he shuts the door. The storm lasts six
days; on the seventh the flood begins to subside. The ship
steered by the helmsman Puzur-Bel lands on Mt. Nisir. After
seven days Ut-napishtim sends forth a dove and a swallow, which,
finding no resting-place for their feet return to the ark, and
then a raven, which feeds on dead bodies and does not return. On
leaving the ship, Ut-napishtim offers a sacrifice to the gods,
who smell the godly odour and gather like flies over the
sacrificer. He and his wife are then admitted among the gods.
The story as given by Berosus comes somewhat nearer to the
Biblical narrative. Because of the striking resemblances between
the two many maintain that the Biblical account is derived from
the Babylonian. But the differences are so many and so important
that this view must be pronounced untenable. The Scriptural
story is a parallel and independent form of a common tradition.
HUMMELAUER, Comm. in Gen. (Paris, 1895), 257 sqq.; HOBERG, Die
Genesis (Freiburg, 1908), 74 sqq.; SELBST, Handbuch zur bibl.
Gesch. (Freiburg, 1910), 200 sqq.; SKINNER, Critic. and Exeg.
Comm. on Gen. (New York, 1910), 133 sqq.; DILLMANN, Genesis,
tr., I (Edinburgh, 1897), 228 sqq.; DHORME, Textes religieux
assyro-babyl. (Paris, 1907), 100 sqq.; VIGOUROUX, La bible et
les decouv. mod., I (6th ed., Paris, 1896), 309 sqq.; SCHRADER,
Die Keilinschrift. u. das A. T. (2nd ed., Giessen, 1882), 55
sqq.; JENSEN in SCHRADER, Keilinschriftl. Bibliothek, VI, i,
(Berlin 1889-), 228 sqq.; VIGOUROUX, Dict. de la Bible, s. vv.
Ararat, Arche, and Noe; HILPRECHT, The earliest version of the
Babylonian deluge story (Philadelphia, 1910).
F. BECHTEL
Guillaume de Nogaret
Guillaume de Nogaret
Born about the middle of the thirteenth century at St.
Felix-en-Lauragais; died 1314; he was one of the chief
counsellors of Philip the Fair, of France (1285-1314), said to
be descended from an Albigensian family and was a protégé of the
lawyer, Pierre Flotte. He studied law, winning a doctorate and a
professorship, and was appointed, in 1294, royal judge of the
seneschal's court of Beaucaire. In 1299 the title of knight was
conferred on him by Philip the Fair. Imbued, from his study of
Roman law, with the doctrine of the absolute supremacy of the
king, no scruple restrained Nogaret when the royal power was in
question, and his influence was apparent in the struggle between
Philip and Boniface VIII. in 1300 Philip sent him as ambassador
to the Holy See to excuse his alliance with Albert of Austria,
usurper of the Empire. Nogaret, according to his own account,
remonstrated with the pope, who replied in vigorous language.
After the death of Pierre Flotte at the battle of Courtrai
(1302), Nogaret became chief adviser and evil genius of the
king. On the publication of the Bull "Unam Sanctam", he was
charged with directing the conflict against the Holy See
(February, 1303). At the Assembly of the Louvre (12 March,
1303), he bitterly attacked the pope, and later, allying himself
with the pope's Italian enemies (the Florentine banker,
Musciatto de Franzesi, and Sciarra Colonna, the head of the
Ghibelline party), he surprised Boniface in his palace at Anagni
and arrested him after subjecting him to outrageous treatment (7
September). But the inhabitants rescued the pope, whose death
(11 October), saved Nogaret from severe retribution. Early in
1304, at Languedoc, he explained his actions to the king, and
received considerable property as recompense. Philip even sent
him with an embassy to the new pope, Benedict XI, who refused to
absolve him from the excommunication he had incurred. Clement V,
however, absolved him in 1311.
Nogaret played a decisive part in the trial of the Templars. On
22 September, 1307, at Maubuisson, Philip made him keeper of the
seal and the same day the Royal Council issued a warrant for the
arrest of the Templars, which was executed on 12 October;
Nogaret himself arrested the Knights of the Temple in Paris and
drew up the proclamation justifying the crime. It was he who
directed all the measures that ended in the execution of Jacques
de Molai and the principal Templars (1314). The same year
Nogaret, who displayed untiring energy in drawing up the
documents by which he sought to ruin his adversaries, undertook
to justify the condemnation of the Templars by announcing the
plans for a new crusade, the expenses of which were to be
defrayed by the confiscated goods of the Order. In this Latin
document, addressed to Clement V, the author attributes the
failure of the crusades to the Templars and declares that Philip
the Fair alone could direct them successfully, provided that he
obtained the help of all the Christian princes to secure the
funds required for the expedition; all the property of the
Templars should be given to the king, likewise all legacies left
for the crusades and all benefices in Christendom should be
taxed. The other military orders, the abbeys, the churches
should retain only the property necessary for their support, the
surplus should be given for the Crusade. No one took this
document seriously, it was probably intended as a solemn hoax.
Nogaret's influence may be seen in the trial for sorcery against
Guichard, bishop of Troyes (1308). A zealous but unscrupulous
royal partisan, a fierce and bitter enemy, Nogaret died before
Philip the Fair, at the time when the regime he had devoted
himself to establishing was beginning to be attacked on all
sides.
LOUIS BREHIER
Nola
Nola
(NOLANA)
Diocese; suffragan of Naples. The city of Nola in the Italian
Province of Caserta, in Campania, is said to have been founded
by the Etruscans or by Chalcideans from Cumae. On the most
ancient coins it is called Nuvlana. In the Samnite War (311
B.C.) the town was taken by the Romans, in the Punic War it was
twice besieged by Hannibal (215 and 214), and on both occasions
splendidly defended by Marcellus. In the war with the Marsi, the
latter took Nola, in 90 B.C., but, notwithstanding their
brilliant defense of the city, it was retaken from them in the
year 89, and its recapture put an end to that war. The city was
sacked by Spartacus, for which reason Augustus and Vespasian
sent colonies there. In A.D. 410 it was sacked by Alaric, in 453
by the Vandals, in 806 and again in 904 by the Saracens. From
the time of Charles I of Anjou to the middle of the fifteenth
century, Nola was a feudal possession of the Orsini. The battle
of Nola (1459) is famous for the clever stratagem by which John
of Anjou defeated Alfonso of Aragon. Nola furnished a
considerable portion of the antiquities in the museum of Naples,
especially beautiful Greek vases. In the seminary there is a
collection of ancient inscriptions, among which are some Oscan
tablets. The ruins of an amphitheatre and other ancient remains
are yet to be seen in this city, where the Emperor Augustus, who
died there, had a famous temple. Nola was the birthplace of
Giordano Bruno, of Luigi Tausillo, the philosopher and poet, of
the sculptor Giovanni Merliano, whose work is well represented
in the cathedral, and of the physician Ambrogio Leo.
The ancient Christian memories of Nola are connected with the
neighboring Cimitile, the name of which recalls the site of an
ancient cemetery. There is the basilica of St. Felix, the
martyr, built, and poetically described by St. Paulinus, bishop
of the city, who shows that no sanctuary, after the tombs of the
Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, was visited by as many pilgrims as
came to this shrine. St. Felix, who lived between the middle of
the second century and the middle of the third, was the first
Bishop of Nola. The city has several other martyrs, among them,
Sts. Reparatus, Faustillus, and Acacius, companions of St.
Januarius, besides St. Felix, confessor. Other bishops of Nola
were St. Marinus (about the year 300); St. Priscus, who died in
328 or, according to Mommsen, in 523; St. Quodvultdeus, who died
in 387 and was succeeded by St. Paulinus. The body of the
last-named saint was taken to Benevento in 839, and in the year
1000 was given to Otho III by the people of Benevento in
exchange for the body of St. Bartholomew; in 1909 it was
restored to Nola. In the fifth century the archpresbyter St.
Adeodatus flourished at Nola; his metrical epitaph has been
preserved. In 484 Joannes Taloias, Orthodox Patriarch of
Alexandria, having been driven from his diocese, was made Bishop
of Nola. It was St. Paulinus III (c. 505) who became a slave to
free a widow's son; this heroic deed was afterwards attributed
to St. Paulinus I. Bishop Lupicinus (786) restored several
sacred buildings. Francis Scacciani (1370) erected the Gothic
cathedral, which was finished by Bishop Gian Antonio Boccarelli
(1469). Antonio Scarampi (1549) founded the seminary and
introduced the reforms of the Council of Trent. Fabrizio Gallo
(1585) founded several charitable institutions; G. B.
Lancellotti (1615-56), who was Apostolic nuncio to Poland from
1622 to 1627, did much for the diocese; Francis M. Carafa
(1704), a Theatine, was zealous for the education of the clergy;
Traiano Caracciolo (1738) constructed the new seminary.
The diocese is a suffragan of Naples; has 86 parishes, with
200,000 inhabitants, 9 religious houses of men, and 19 of women,
several educational establishments and asylums, and four monthly
and bi-monthly periodicals.
CAPPELLETTI, Le Chiese d'Italia, XXI; REMONDINI, Storia della
citta e diocesi di Nola (Naples, 1747-57.
U. BENIGNI
Giovanni Marliano da Nola
Giovanni Marliano da Nola
Sculptor and architect, b., it is said, of a leather merchant
named Giuseppe, at Nola, near Naples, 1488; d. 1558 (?). He
studied under Agnolo Aniello Fiore and then went to Rome, being
attracted by the fame of Michelangelo, whose work he studied
closely. On his return to Naples he was employed in churches,
palaces, and piazze. Among his works may be mentioned the
monument of Galeazzo Pandono in S. Domenico (1514); the tombs of
the three youths Jacopo, Ascanio and Sigismondo (who died of
poison) in their family church of S. Severino (1516); various
sculptures in the church of Monte Oliveto (1524), notably a fine
group of the Mother and Child with infant St. John and, in the
choir, tombs of Alphonsus II and Guerrero Origlia; in the church
of S. Chiara, the simple and touching recumbent figure of the
girl Antonia Gandino (1530). Outside of Italy the noble monument
of the Spanish Duke of Cardona (about 1532) in the Franciscan
church of Belpuch is among the best known. The decorations made
by Nola for the reception of Emperor Charles V in Naples (1535)
are still to be seen on the Porta Capuana. In 1537 he carved a
beautiful standing Madonna and two Saints for the church of S.
Domenico Maggiore. In 1553 the Spanish viceroy, Peter of Toledo,
caused him to erect the mausoleum to himself and his wife in the
church of S. Giacomo degli Spagnuoli. Further works of Nola's,
also in Naples, are the Pieta and tomb of a child, Andrea
Cicara, in the church of S. Severino; a Madonna della
Misericordia in S. Pietro ad Aram; an altar-piece at S. Aniello,
representing the Mother and Child seated on a crescent moon; and
a fine set of wooden bas-reliefs depicting the life of Christ,
in the sacristy of the Annunziata. Nola is one of the most
justly lauded representatives of a rather poor school of
Renaissance sculpture in Naples.
CICOGNARA, Storia della scultura (Venice, 1813); PERKINS,
Italian Sculptors (London, 1868); LUBKE, History of Sculpture,
tr. BURNETT (London, 1872).
M.L. HANDLEY
Jean-Antoine Nollet
Jean-Antoine Nollet
Physicist, b. at Pimpré, Oise, France, 19 November, 1700; d. at
Paris, 25 April, 1770. His peasant parents sent him to study at
Clermont and Beauvais. He went later to Paris to prepare for the
priesthood. In 1728 he received the deaconship and applied
immediately for permission to preach. Soon love of science
became uppermost and together with Dufay and Réaumur he devoted
himself to the study of physics and especially to research work
in electricity. Abbé Nollet was the first to recognize the
importance of sharp points on the conductors in the discharge of
electricity. This was later applied practically in the
construction of the lightning-rod. He also studied the
conduction of electricity in tubes, in smoke, vapours, steam,
the influence of electric charges on evaporation, vegetation,
and animal life. His discovery of the osmosis of water through a
bladder into alcohol was the starting-point of that branch of
physics.
In 1734 Nollet went to London and was admitted into the Royal
Society. In 1735 he started in Paris, at his own expense, a
course in experimental physics which he continued until 1760. In
1738 Cardinal Fleury created a public chair of experimental
physics for Nollet. In 1739 he entered the Academy of Sciences,
becoming associate member in 1742, and pensionary in 1758. In
April, 1739 the King of Sardinia called him to Turin to instruct
the Duke of Savoy, and to furnish the instruments needed for the
new chair of physics at the university. After lecturing a short
time at Bordeaux, he was called to Versailles to instruct the
dauphin in experimental science. He was appointed professor of
experimental physics at the Royal College of Navarre, in 1753.
In 1761 he taught at the school of artillery at Mézières. Nollet
was also a member of the Institute of Bologna and of the Academy
of Sciences of Erfurt. He was calm and simple in manner, and his
letters and papers showed that he had been devoted and generous
to his family and his native village. Nollet contributed to the
"Recueil de l'Académie des Sciences" (1740-67) and the
"Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society"; his larger
works include among others: -- "Programme d'un cours de physique
expérimentale" (Paris, 1738); "Leçons de physique expérimentale"
(Paris, 1743); "Recherches sur les causes particulières des
phénomenes électriques" (Paris, 1749); "L'art des expériences"
(Paris, 1770).
GRANDJEAN DE FOUCHY, Eloge de J.-A. Nollet; Histoire de
l'Academie Royale des Sciences (Paris, 1773), 121-36.
WILLIAM FOX
Nominalism, Realism, Conceptualism
Nominalism, Realism, Conceptualism
These terms are used to designate the theories that have been
proposed as solutions of one of the most important questions in
philosophy, often referred to as the problem of universals,
which, while it was a favourite subject for discussion in
ancient times, and especially in the Middle Ages, is still
prominent in modern and contemporary philosophy. We propose to
discuss in this article:
I. The Nature of the Problem and the Suggested Solutions;
II. The Principal Historic Forms of Nominalism, Realism, and
Conceptualism;
III. The Claims of Moderate Realism.
I. THE PROBLEM AND THE SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS
The problem of universals is the problem of the correspondence
of our intellectual concepts to things existing outside our
intellect. Whereas external objects are determinate, individual,
formally exclusive of all multiplicity, our concepts or mental
representations offer us the realities independent of all
particular determination; they are abstract and universal. The
question, therefore, is to discover to what extent the concepts
of the mind correspond to the things they represent; how the
flower we conceive represents the flower existing in nature; in
a word, whether our ideas are faithful and have an objective
reality.
Four solutions of the problem have been offered. It is necessary
to describe them carefully, as writers do not always use the
terms in the same sense.
A. Exaggerated Realism
Exaggerated Realism holds that there are universal concepts in
the mind and universal things in nature. There is, therefore, a
strict parallelism between the being in nature and the being in
thought, since the external object is clothed with the same
character of universality that we discover in the concept. This
is a simple solution, but one that runs counter to the dictates
of common sense.
B. Nominalism
Exaggerated Realism invents a world of reality corresponding
exactly to the attributes of the world of thought. Nominalism,
on the contrary, models the concept on the external object,
which it holds to be individual and particular. Nominalism
consequently denies the existence of abstract and universal
concepts, and refuses to admit that the intellect has the power
of engendering them. What are called general ideas are only
names, mere verbal designations, serving as labels for a
collection of things or a series of particular events. Hence the
term Nominalism. Neither Exaggerated Realism nor Nominalism
finds any difficulty in establishing a correspondance between
the thing in thought and the thing existing in nature, since in
different ways, they both postulate perfect harmony between the
two. The real difficulty appears when we assign different
attributes to the thing in nature and to the thing in thought;
if we hold that the one is individual and the other universal.
An antinomy then arises between the world of reality and world
as represented in the mind, and we are led to inquire how the
general notion of flower conceived by the mind is applicable to
the particular and determinate flowers of nature.
C. Conceptualism
Conceptualism admits the existence within us of abstract and
universal concepts (whence its name), but it holds that we do
not know whether or not the mental objects have any foundation
outside our minds or whether in nature the individual objects
possess distributively and each by itself the realities which we
conceive as realized in each of them. The concepts have an ideal
value; they have no real value, or at least we do not know
whether they have a real value.
D. Moderate Realism
Moderate Realism, finally, declares that there are universal
concepts representing faithfully realities that are not
universal.
How can there be harmony between the former and the latter? The
latter are particular, but we have the power of representing them to
ourselves abstractly. Now the abstract type, when the intellect
considers it reflectively and contrasts it with the particular
subjects in which it is realized or capable of being realized, is
attributable indifferently to any and all of them. This
applicability of the abstract type to the individuals is its
universality. (Mercier, "Critériologie", Louvain, 1906, p. 343).
II. THE PRINCIPAL HISTORICAL FORMS OF NOMINALISM, REALISM, AND CONCEPTUALISM
A. In Greek Philosophy
The conciliation of the one and the many, the changing and the
permanent, was a favourite problem with the Greeks; it leads to
the problem of universals. The typical affirmation of
Exaggerated Realism, the most outspoken ever made, appears in
Plato's philosophy; the real must possess the attributes of
necessity, universality, unity, and immutability which are found
in our intellectual representations. And as the sensible world
contains only the contingent, the particular, the unstable, it
follows that the real exists outside and above the sensible
world. Plato calls it eîdos, idea. The idea is absolutely stable
and exists by itself (óntos ón; autá kath' autá), isolated from
the phenomenal world, distinct from the Divine and human
intellect. Following logically the directive principles of his
Realism, Plato makes an idea entity correspond to each of our
abstract representations. Not only natural species (man, horse)
but artificial products (bed), not only substances (man) but
properties (white, just), relations (double, triple), and even
negations and nothingness have a corresponding idea in the
suprasensible world. "What makes one and one two, is a
participation of the dyad (dúas), and what makes one one is a
participation of monad (mónas)in unity" (Phædo, lxix). The
exaggerated Realism of Plato, investing the real being with the
attributes of the being in thought, is the principal doctrine of
his metaphysics.
Aristotle broke away from these exaggerated views of his master
and formulated the main doctrines of Moderate Realism. The real
is not, as Plato says, some vague entity of which the sensible
world is only the shadow; it dwells in the midst of the sensible
world. Individual substance (this man, that horse) alone has
reality; it alone can exist. The universal is not a thing in
itself; it is immanent in individuals and is multiplied in all
the representatives of a class. As to the form of universality
of our concepts (man, just), it is a product of our subjective
consideration. The objects of our generic and specific
representations can certainly be called substances (ousíai),
when they designate the fundamental reality (man) with the
accidental determinations (just, big); but these are deúterai
ousíai (second substances), and by that Aristotle means
precisely that this attribute of universality which affects the
substance as in thought does not belong to the substance (thing
in itself); it is the outcome of our subjective elaboration.
This theorem of Aristotle, which completes the metaphysics of
Heraclitus (denial of permanent) by means of that of Parmenides
(denial of change), is the antithesis of Platonism, and may be
considered one of the finest pronouncements of Peripateticism.
It was through this wise doctrine that the Stagyrite exercised
his ascendency over all later thought.
After Aristotle Greek philosophy formulated a third answer to
the problem of universals, Conceptualism. This solution appears
in the teaching of the Stoics, which, as is known, ranks with
Platonism and Aristoteleanism among the three original systems
of the great philosophic age of the Greeks. Sensation is the
principle of all knowledge, and thought is only a collective
sensation. Zeno compared sensation to an open hand with the
fingers separated; experience or multiple sensation to the open
hand with the fingers bent; the general concept born of
experience to the closed fist. Now, concepts, reduced to general
sensations, have as their object, not the corporeal and external
thing reached by the senses (túgchanon), but the lektóon or the
reality conceived; whether this has any real value we do not
know. The Aristotelean School adopted Aristotelean Realism, but
the neo-Platonists subscirbed to the Platonic theory of ideas
which they transformed into an emanationistic and monistic
concepton of the universe.
B. In the Philosophy of the Middle Ages
For a long time it was thought that the problem of universals
monopolized the attention of the philosophers of the Middle
Ages, and that the dispute of the Nominalists and Realists
absorbed all their energies. In reality that question, although
prominent in the Middle Ages, was far from being the only one
dealt with by these philosophers.
(1) From the commencement of the Middle Ages till the end of the
12th century.--It is impossible to classify the philosophers of
the beginning of the Middle Ages exactly as Nominalists,
Moderate and Exaggerated Realists, or Conceptualists. And the
reason is that the problem of the Universals is very complex. It
not merely involves the metaphysics of the individual and of the
universal, but also raises important questions in
ideology--questions about the genesis and validity of knowledge.
But the earlier Scholastics, unskilled in such delicate matters,
did not perceive these various aspects of the problem. It did
not grow up spontaneously in the Middle Ages; it was bequeathed
in a text of porphyry's "Isagoge", a text that seemed simple and
innocent, though somewhat obscure, but one which force of
circumstances made the necessary starting-point of the earliest
medieval speculations about the Universals.
Porphyry divides the problem into three parts:
+ Do genera and species exist in nature, or do they consist in
mere products of the intellect?
+ If they are things apart from the mind, are they coporeal or
incorporeal things?
+ Do they exist outside the (individual) things of sense, or are
they realized in the latter?
"Mox de generibus et speciebus illud quidem sive subsistant sive
in nudis intelluctibus posita sint, sive subsistentia corporalia
sint an incorporalia, et utrum separata a senaibilibus an in
sensibilibus posita er circa haec subsistentia, decere
recusabo." Historically, the first of those questions was
discussed prior to the others: the latter could have arisen only
in the event of denying an exclusively subjective character to
universal realities. Now the first question was whether genera
and species are objective realities or not: sive subsistant,
sive in nudis intellectibus posita sint? In other words, the
sole point in debate was the absolute reality of the universals:
their truth, their relation to the understanding, was not in
question. The text from Porphyry, apart from the solution he
elsewhere proposed in works unknown to the early Scholastics, is
an inadequate statement of the question; for it takes account
only of the objective aspect and neglects the psychological
standpoint which alone can give the key to the true solution.
Moreover, Porphyry, after proposing his triple interrogation in
the "Isagoge", refuses to offer an answer (dicere recusabo).
Boëthius, in his two commentaries, gives replies that are vague
and scarecely consistent. In the second comentary, which is the
more important one, he holds that genera and species are both
subsistentia and intellecta (1st question), the similarity of
things being the basis (subjectum) both of their individuality
in nature and their universality in the mind: that genera and
species are incorporeal not by nature but by abstraction (2nd
question), and that they exist both inside and outside the
things of sense (3rd question).
This was not sufficiently clear for beginners, though we can see
in it the basis of the Aristotlean solution of the problem. The
early Scholastics faced the problem as proposed by Porphyry:
limiting the controversy to genera and species, and its
solutions to the altenatives suggested by the first question: Do
objects of concepts (i.e., genera and species) exist in nature
(subsistentia), or are they mere abstractions (nuda intelecta)?
Are they, or are they not, things? Those who replied in the
affirmative got the name of Reals or Realists; the others that
of Nominals or Nominalists. The former or the Realist, more
numerous in the early Middle Ages (Fredugisus, Rémy d'Auxerre,
and John Scotus Eriugena in the ninth century, Gerbert and Odo
of Tournai in the Tenth, and William of Chapeaux in the twelfth)
attribute to each species a universal essence (subsistentia), to
which all the subordinate individuals are tributary.
The Nominalists, who should be called rather the anti-Realists,
assert on the contrary that the individual alone exists, and
that the universals are not things realized in the universal
state in nature, or subsistentia. And as they adopt the
alternative of Porphyry, they conclude that the universals are
nuda intellecta (that is, purely intellectual representations).
It may be that Roscelin of Compiègne did not go beyond these
energetic protest against Realism, and that he is not a
Nominalist in the exact sense we have attributed to the word
above, for we have to depend on others for an expression of his
views, as there is extant no text of his which would justify us
in saying that he denied the intellect the power of forming
general concepts, distinct in their nature from sensation.
Indeed, it is difficult to comprehend how Nominalism could exist
at all in the Middle Ages, as it is possible only in a sensist
philosophy that denies all natural distinction between sensation
and the intellectual concept. Futhermore there is little
evidence of Sensism in the Middle Ages, and, as Sensism and
Scholasticism, so also Nominalism and Scholasticism are mutually
exclusive. The different anti-Realist system anterior to the
thirteenth century are in fact only more or less imperfect forms
of the Moderate Realism towards which efforts of the first
period were tending, phases through which the same idea passed
in its organic evolution. These stages are numerous, and several
have been studied in recent monograph (e.g. the doctrine of
Adélard of Bath, of Gauthier de Mortagne, Indifferentism, and
the theory of the collectio). The decisive stage is marked by
Abélard, (1079-1142), who points out clearly the role
abstraction, and how we represent to ourselves elements common
to different things, capable of realization in an indefinite
number of individuals of the same species, while the individual
alone exists. >From that to Moderate Realism there is but a
step; it was sufficient to show that a real fundamentum allows
us to attribute the general represention to individual thing. It
is impossibe to say who was the first in the twelfth century to
develop the theory in its entirety. Moderate Realism appears
fully in the writing of John of Salisbury.
C. From the thirteenth Century
In the thirteenth century all the great Scholastics solved the
problem of the universals by the theory of Moderate Realism
(Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure, Duns Scotus), and are thus in
accord with Averroes and Avicenna, the great Arab commentators
of Aristotle, whose works hasd recently passed into circulation
by means of tranlations. St. Thomas formulates the doctrine of
Moderate Realism in precise language, and for that reason alone
we can give the name of Thomistic Realism to this doctrine (see
below). With William of Occam and the Terminist School appear
the strictly conceptualist solution of the problem. The abstract
and universal concept is a sign (signum), also called a term
(terminus; hence the name Terminism given to the system), but it
has no real value, for the absract and the universl do not exist
in any way in nature and have no fundamentum outside the mind.
The universal concept (intentio secunda) has as it object
internal representations, formed by the understanding, to which
nothing external corresponding can be attributed. The role of
the universals is to serve as a label, to hold the place
(supponere) in the mind of multitude of things which it can be
attributed. Occam's Conceptualism would be frankly
subjectivistic, if, together with the abstract concepts which
reach the individual thing, as it exists in nature.
D. In Modern and Contemporary Philosophy
We find an unequivocal affirmation of Nominalism in Positivism.
For Hume, Stuart Mill, Spencer, and Taine there is strictly
speaking no universal concept. The notion, to which we lend
universality, is only a collection of individual perceptions, a
collective sensation, "un nom compris" (Taine), "a term in
habitual association with many other particular ideas" (Hume),
"un savoir potentiel emmagasiné" (Ribot). The problem of the
correspondence of the concept to reality is thus at once solved,
or rather it is suppressed and replaced by the psycological
question: What is the origin of the illusion that induces us to
attribute a distinct nature to the general concept, though the
latter is only an elaborated sensation? Kant distinctly affirms
the existence within us of abstract and general notions and the
distinction between them and sensations, but these doctrines are
joined with a characteristic Phonmenalism which constitutes the
most original form of modern Conceptualism. Universal and
necessary representations have no contact with external things,
sinct they are produced exclusively by the structual functions
(a priori forms) of our mind. Time and space, in which we frame
all sensible impressions, cannot be obtained from expierence,
which is individual and contigent; they are schemata which arise
from our mental organization. Consequently, we have no warrant
for establishing a real correspondence between the world of
reality. Science, which is only an elaboration of the data of
sense in accordance with other structural determinations of the
mind (the categories), becomes a subjective poem, which has
value only for us and not for a world outside us. A modern form
of Platonic or Exaggerated Realism is found in the ontologist
doctrine defended by certain Catholic philosophers in the middle
of the nineteenth century, and which consist in identifying the
objects of universal ideas with the Divine ideas or the
archetypes on which the world was fashioned. As to Moderate
Realism, it remains the doctrine of all those who have returned
to Aristotleanism or adopted the neo-Scholastic philosophy.
III. THE CLAIMS OF MODERATE REALISM
This system reconciles the characteristics of external objects
(particularity) with those of our intellectual representations
(universality), and explains why science, though made up of
abstract notions, is valid for the world of reality. To
understand this it suffices to grasp the real meaning of
abstraction. When the mind apprehends the essence of a thing
(quod quid est; tò tí en eînai), the external object is
perceived without the particular notes which attach to it in
nature (esse in singularibus), and it is not yet marked with the
attribute of generality which reflection will bestow on it (esse
in intellectu). The abstract reality is apprehended with perfect
indifference as regards both the individual state without and
the universal state within: abstrahit ab utroque esse, secundum
quam considerationem considerattur natura lapidis vel cujus
cumque alterius, quantum ad ea tantum quæ per se competunt illi
naturæ (St Tomas, "Quodlibeta", Q. i, a. 1). Now, what is thus
conceived in the absolute state (absolute considerando) is
nothing else than the reality incarnate in any give individual:
in truth, the reality, represented in my concept of man, is in
Socrates or in Plato. There is nothing in the abstract concept
that is not applicable to every individual; if the abstract
concept is inadequate, because it does not contain the singular
notes of each being, it is none the less faithful, or at least
its abstract character does not prevent it from corresponding
faithfully to the objects existing in nature. As to the
universal form of the concept, a moment's consideration shows
that it is subsequent to the abstraction and is the fruit of
reflection: "ratio speciei accidit naturæ humanæ". Whence it
follows that the universality of the concept as such is the work
purely of the intellect: "unde intellectus est qui facit
universalitatem in rebus" (St. Thomas, "De ente et essentia,"
iv).
Concerning Nominalism, Conceptualism, and Exaggerated Realism, a
few general considerations must suffice. Nominalism, which is
irreconcilable with a spiritualistic philosophy and for that
very reason with scholasticism as well, presupposes the
ideological theory that the abstract concept does not differ
essentially from sensation, of which it is only a
transformation. The Nominalism of Hume, Stuart Mill, Spencer,
Huxley, and Taine is of no greater value than their ideology.
The confound essentially distinct logical operations--the simple
decomposition of sensible or empirical representations with
abstraction properly so called and sensible analogy with the
process of universalization. The Aristotleans recognize both of
these mental operations, but they distinguish carefully between
them. As to Kant, all the bounds that might connect the concept
with the external world are destroyed in his Phenomenalism. Kant
is unable to explain why one and the same sensible impression
starts or sets in operation now this, now that category; his a
priori forms are unintelligible according to his own principles,
since they are beyond experience. Moreover, he confuses real
time and space, limited like the things they develop, with ideal
or abstract time and space, which alone are general and without
limit. For in truth we do not create wholesale the object of our
knowledge, but we beget it within us under the causal influence
of the object that reveals itself to us. Ontologism, which is
akin to Platonic Realism, arbitrarily identifies the ideal types
in our intellect, which come to us from the sensible world by
means of abstraction, with the ideal types consubstantial with
the essence of God. Now, when we form our first abstract ideas
we do not yet know God. We are so ignorant of Him that we must
employ these first ideas to prove a posteriori His existence.
Ontologism has lived its life, and our age so enamoured of
observation and experiment will scarcely return to the dreams of
Plato.
M. DE WULF
Nomination
Nomination
The various methods of designating persons for ecclesiastical
benefices or offices have been described under Benefice; Bishop;
Election; Canonical Institution. All these methods are more or
less included in the ordinary sense of the term nomination; but
in its strict canonical sense, nomination is defined as the
designation of a person for an ecclesiastical benefice or office
made by the competent civil authority and conferring on the
person named the right to be canonically instituted by the
ecclesiastical superior. It follows the rules of patronal
presentation, being based on the same grounds as the right of
patronage, viz., the endowment of churches or benefices by
kings, princes, or communities. Its method of action is designed
to keep the prerogatives of the two powers clearly separated,
the intervention of the secular power taking effect in the free
choice of a fit person, the spiritual jurisdiction being
reserved intact to the ecclesiastical superior, who alone can
give canonical institution. At the present time appointments to
benefices by right of nomination, especially to bishoprics, is
generally settled by negotiation and previous understanding
between the two powers. Under the old regime the nominated
person himself applied for canonical institution; the superior
made inquiry as to the applicant and, unless the inquiry
disclosed unworthiness or unfitness, granted canonical
institution according to the customary forms-most often by
consistorial preconization. Whatever procedure may be followed,
the person named by the civil power has no spiritual
jurisdiction until he has been canonically instituted; and if he
should dare to intrude in the administration of the diocese with
no other title than his nomination by the secular authority, not
only would all his acts be null and void, but he, and with him
those who should have consented to his acts, would incur
excommunication and other penalties; moreover, he would forfeit
the right resulting from his nomination (Const. "Romanus
pontifex", 28 Aug., 1873, and the texts there cited. Cf.
Excommunication, vol. V, p. 691, col. 1).
The most important application of the right of nomination by
princes is, without doubt, that which relates to the major or
consistorial, benefices, especially bishoprics. Without going
back to the intrustions of royal power in episcopal elections in
the barbarian kingdoms, or in the Carlovingian Empire, or the
Byzantine, it must be remembered that the Concordat of Worms
(1121), which ended the Conflict of Investitures (q. v.),
included an initial measure for the separation of the parts and
prerogatives of the two powers in the choice of bishops. The
emperor recognized the frreedom of episcopal elections and
consecrations; the pope, on his side, agreed that elections
should be held in the emperor's presence, without simony or
restraint, that the emperor should decide in case of dispute,
that he should give temporal investiture, by the sceptre, to the
bishop-elect, while investiture by ring and crosier, symbolic of
ecclesiastical jurisdiction, should be combined with the
consecration. The custom of election of bishops by chapters,
which was the common law of the thirteenth century, left,
officially, no opening for royal interference, but princes none
the less endeavoured to have their candidates elected. This
became more difficult for them when, by successive reservations,
the popes had made themselves masters of all episcopal
elections, thus occasioning serious inconveniences. While in
Germany the Concordat of 1448 re-established capitular
elections, in France, on the contrary, after the difficulties
consequent upon the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges (1438), the
quarrel ended with the Concordat of 1516. In this instrument we
find the right of nomination guaranteed to the kings of France
for consistorial benefices, bishoprics, abbacies, and priorates;
and thence the arrangement passed into most of the subsequent
concordats, including that of 1801 (cf. Nussi, "Quinquaginta
conventiones", Rome, 1869, tit. v). The royal ordinance of
Francis I promulgating the Bull of Leo X says: "Such vacancy
occurring, the King of France shall be bound to present and name
[the Bull says only nobis nominabit] a master ... and otherwise
fit, within six months ... that we may appoint his nominee to
the vacant see." If this person is rejected, the king will
nominate another within three months; if not, the pope can
himself appoint. The same right of nomination is extended to
abbacies and priorates, with some exceptions. The Concordat of
1801 (articles 4 and 5) accords to the First Consul the same
right of nomination, but only for bishoprics, and without fixing
a limit of time for its exercise. In other countries (e. g.
Spain) the right of the temporal ruler includes other benefices
besides bishoprics.
Such being the nature of the very definite right of nomination,
nothing but malicious provocation can be discerned in the
conflict brought on by M. Combes, when Prime Minister of France
(1902-5), in regard to the nobis nominavit, the expression which
figured in the Bulls for French bishops. By a note dated 21
Dec., 1902, the French Government demanded the suppression of
the nobis, as if to make it appear that the head of the State
nominated bishops absolutely, like government officials. The
Vatican explained the true nature of the nomination as the
designation of a person by the head of the State, the latter
indicating to the pope the cleric whom he desires as head of
such a diocese, the pope accordingly creating that candidate
bishop by canonical institution. The fact was pointed out that
the word nobis is found in the episcopal Bulls of all nations
which have by concordat the right of nomination; also that, with
very rare exceptions, it appears in all the Bulls for France
under the Concordat of 1516 as under that of 1801; that
previously, in 1871, the French Government having obtained
without any difficulty the suppression of the word præsentavit,
had, upon representations made by Rome, withdrawn its demand for
the suppression of the nobis; above all, it was insisted on that
the letters patent of the French Government to the pope had from
time immemorial contained the words: "We name him [the
candidate] and present him to Your Holiness, that it may please
Your Holiness, upon our nomination and presentation, to provide
for the said bishopric", etc. The Vatican nevertheless declared
that it did not desire to refuse any satisfactory revision;
various formulæ were proposed on either side, without success;
at last the Holy See consented to suppress the word nobis
employing the usual formula in drafting letters patent. (On this
conflict see the "Livre Blanc du Saint Siège"; vi, in "Acta S.
Sedis", 15 Jan., 1906.) This concession, as we know, did not
delay the separation which the French Government was determined
to have at any price. (See Benefice; Bishop; Concordat;
Election; Institution.)
Canonists on the title De præbendis, III, v; HÉricourt, Loix
ecclésiastiques de France, E, IV; Cavagnis, Institutiones juris
ecclesiastici, II (Rome, 1906), 13, 256; SÉvestre, L'histoire,
le texte et la destinée du Concordat de 1801 (Paris, 1905);
Vering, Kirchenrecht (Freiburg im Br., 1893), § 86; SÄgmÜller,
Lehrbuch des kath. Kirchengeschichte (Freiburg, 1909), § 73 sq.
A. Boudinhon
Nomocanon
Nomocanon
(from the Greek nomos, law, and kanon, a rule)
A collection of ecclesiastical law, the elements of which are
borrowed from secular and canon law. When we recall the
important place given to ecclesiastical discipline in the
imperial laws such as the Theodosian Code, the Justinian
collections, and the subsequent "Novellæ", and "Basilica", the
utility of comparing laws and canons relating to the same
subjects will be readily recognized. Collections of this kind
are found only in Eastern law. The Greek Church has two
principal collections. The first, dating from the end of the
sixth century, is ascribed, though without certainty, to John
Scholasticus (q. v.), whose canons it utilizes and completes. He
had drawn up (about 550) a purely canonical compilation in fifty
titles, and later composed an extract from the "Novellæ" in
eighty-seven chapters (for the canonical collection see Voellus
and Justellus, "Bibliotheca juris canonici", Paris, 1661, II,
449 sqq.; for the eighty-seven chapters, Pitra, "Juris
ecclesiastici Græcorum historia et monumenta", Rome, 1864, II,
385). To each of the fifty titles were added the texts of the
imperial laws on the same subject, with twenty-one additional
chapters nearly all borrowed from John's eighty-seven (Voellus
and Justellus, op. cit., II, 603). In its earliest form this
collection dates from the reign of Emperor Heraclius (610-40),
at which time Latin was replaced by Greek as the official
language of the imperial laws. Its two sections include the
ecclesiastical canons and the imperial laws, the latter in
fourteen titles.
This collection was long held in esteem and passed into the
Russian Church, but was by degrees supplanted by that of
Photius. The first part of Photius's collection contains the
conciliar canons and the decisions of the Fathers. It is in
substance the Greek collection of 692, as it is described by
canon ii of the Trullan Council (see LAW, CANON), with the
addition of 102 canons of that council, 17 canons of the Council
of Constantinople of 861 (against Ignatius), and of 3 canons
substituted by Photius for those of the oecumenical council of
869. The nomocanon in fourteen titles was completed by additions
from the more recent imperial laws. This whole collection was
commentated about 1170 by Theodore Balsamon, Greek Patriarch of
Antioch residing at Constantinople (Nomocanon with Balsamon's
commentary in Voellus and Justellus, II, 815; P. G., CIV, 441).
Supplemented by this commentary the collection of Photius has
become a part of the "Pidalion" (pedalion, rudder), a sort of
Corpus Juris of the Orthodox Church, printed in 1800 by
Patriarch Neophytus VIII. In the eleventh century it had been
also translated into Slavonic for the Russian Church; it is
retained in the law of the Orthodox Church of Greece, and
included in the "Syntagma" published by Rhallis and Potlis
(Athens, 1852-9). Though called the "Syntagma", the collection
of ecclesiastical law of Matthew Blastares (c. 1339) is a real
nomocanon, in which the texts of the canons and of the laws are
arranged in alphabetical order (P. G., loc. cit.; Beveridge,
"Synodicon", Oxford, 1672). A remarkable nomocanon was composed
by John Barhebræus (1226-86) for the Syrian Church of Antioch
(Latin version by Assemani in Mai, "Script. vet, nova
collectio", X, 3 sqq.). Several Russian manuals published at
Kiev and Moscow in the seventeenth century were also nomocanons.
VERING, Lehrb. des Kirchenrechts (Freiburg, 1893), §§ 17-19;
SCHNEIDER, Die Lehre von den Kirchenrechtsquellen (Ratisbon,
1892), 50, 199; also bibliographies of LAW, CANON; JOHN
SCHOLASTICUS; PHOTIUS, etc.
A. BOUDINHON.
Nonantola
Nonantola
Nonantola, a former Benedictine monastery and prelature nullius,
six miles north-east of Modena founded in 752 by St. Anselm,
Duke of Friuli, and richly endowed by Aistulph, King of the
Longobards. Stephen II appointed Anselm its first abbot, and
presented the relics of St. Sylvester to the abbey, named in
consequence S. Sylvester de Nonantula. After the death Aistulph
(756), Anselm was banished to Monte Cassino by the new king,
Desiderius, but was restored by Charlemagne after seven years.
In 883 it was chosen as the place of a conference between
Charles the Fat and Marinus I. Up to 1083 it was an imperial
monastery, and its discipline often suffered severely on account
of imperial interference in the election of abbots. In the
beginning of the Conflict of Investitures it sided with the
emperor, until forced to submit to the pope by Mathilda of
Tuscany in 1083. It finally declared itself openly for the pope
in 1111. In that year the famous monk Placidus of Nonantola
wrote his "De honore Ecclesiæ", one of the most able and
important defences of the papal position that were written
during the Conflict of Investitures. It is printed in Pez
"Thesaurus Anecdot. noviss." (Augsburg, 1721), II, ii, 73 sq.
The decline of the monastery began in 1419, when it came under
the jurisdiction of commendatory abbots. In 1514 it came into
the possession of the Cistercians, but continued to decline
until it was finally suppressed by Clement XIII in 1768. Pius
VII restored it 23 Jan., 1821, with the provision that the
prelature nullius attached to it should belong to the Archbishop
of Modena. In 1909 the exempt district comprised 42,980
inhabitants, 31 parishes, 91 churches and chapels. 62 secular
priests and three religious congregations for women. The
monastery itself was appropriated by the Italian Government in
1866.
TIRABOSCHI, Storia dell' augusta badia di S. Silvestro di
Nonantola (2 vols., Modena, 1784-5); GAUDENZI in Bull dell'
Instituto stor. ital., XXII (1901), 77-214; CORRADI, Nonantola,
abbazia imperiale in Rivista Storia Benedettina, IV (Rome,
1909). 181-9; MURATORI, Rer. Ital. Script., I, ii, 189-196;
Notitia codicum monasterii Nonantulani anni 1166 in MAI,
Spicilegium Romanum (Rome, 1839-44), V. i. 218-221; BECKER,
Catalogi bibliothecarum antiqui (Bonn, 1885), 220 sq.; GIORGI in
Rivista della Biblioteche e degli archivi, VI (Florence, 1895),
54 sq.
MICHAEL OTT.
Nonconformists
Nonconformists
A name which, in its most general acceptation, denotes those
refusing to conform with the authorized formularies and rites of
the Established Church of England. The application of the term
has varied somewhat with the successive phases of Anglican
history. From the accession of Elizabeth to the middle of the
seventeenth century it had not come into use as the name of a
religious party, but the word "conform", and the appellatives
"conforming" and "nonconforming", were becoming more and more
common expressions to designate those members of the Puritan
party who, disapproving of certain of the Anglican rites
(namely, the use of the surplice, of the sign of the cross at
baptism, of the ring in marriage, of the attitude of kneeling at
the reception of the sacrament) and of the episcopal order of
church government, either resigned themselves to these usages
because enjoined, or stood out against them at all costs.
However from 1662, when the Fourth Act of Uniformity had the
effect of ejecting from the benefices, acquired during the
Commonwealth, a large number of ministers of Puritan
proclivities, and of constraining them to organize themselves as
separatist sects, the term "Nonconformist" crystallized into the
technical name for such sects.
History
The history of this cleavage in the ranks of English
Protestantism goes back to the reign of Mary Tudor, when the
Protestant leaders who were victorious under Edward VI retired
to Frankfort, Zurich, and other Protestant centres on the
continent, and quarreled among themselves, some inclining to the
more moderate Lutheran or Zwinglian positions, other developing
into uncompromising Calvinists. When the accession of Elizabeth
attracted them back to England, the Calvinist section, which
soon acquired the nickname of Puritans, was the more fiery, the
large in numbers and the most in favour with the majority of the
Protestant laity. Elizabeth, however, who had very little
personal religion, preferred an episcopal to a presbyterian
system as more in harmony with monarchism, and besides she had
some taste for the ornate in public worship. Accordingly she
caused the religious settlement, destined to last into our own
times, to be made on the basis of episcopacy, with the retention
of the points of ritual above specified; and her favour was
bespoken for prelates like, Parker, who were prepared to aid her
in carrying out this programme. For those who held Puritan views
she had a natural dislike, to which she sometimes gave forcible
expression, but on the who she saw the expediency of showing
them some consideration, lest she should lose their support in
her campaign against Catholicism.
These were the determining factors of the initial situation, out
of which the subsequent history of English Protestantism has
grown by a natural development. The results during Elizabeth's
reign was a state of oscillation between phases of repression
and phases of indulgence, in meeting the persistent endeavours
of the Puritans to make their own ideas dominant in the national
Church. In 1559, the third Act of Uniformity was passed, by
which the new edition of the Prayer Book was enjoined under
severe penalties on all ministering as clergy in the country. In
1566, feeling that some concession to the strength of the
Puritan opposition was necessary, Archbishop Parker, on an
understanding with the queen, published certain Advertisements
addressed to the clergy, requiring them to conform at least as
regards wearing the surplice, kneeling at communion, using the
font for baptism, and covering the communion table with a proper
cloth. These Advertisements were partially enforced in some
diocese, and let to some deprivations, but that their effect was
small is clear from the boldness with which the Puritans took up
a more advanced position a few years later, and demanded the
substitution of a presbyterian regime. This was the demand of
Thomas Cartwright, in his First and Second Admonitions,
published in 1572, and followed in 1580 by his Book of
Discipline, in which he collaborated with Thomas Travers. In
this latter book he propounded an ingenious theory of classes,
or boards of clergy for each district, to which the episcopal
powers should be transferred, to be exercised by them on
presbyterian principles, to the bishops being reserved only the
purely mechanical ceremony or ordination. So great was the
influence of the Puritans in the country that they were able to
introduce for a time this strange system in one or two places.
In 1588 the Marprelate tracts were published, and by the
violence of their language against the queen and the bishops
stirred up the queen to take drastic measures. Perry and Udal,
authors of the tracts, were tried and executed, and Cartwright
was imprisoned; whilst in 1593 an act was passed inflicting the
punishment of imprisonment, to be followed by exile in case of a
second offence, on all who refused to attend the parish church,
or held separatist meetings. This caused a division in the
party; as many, though secretly retaining their beliefs,
preferred outward conformity to the loss of their benefices,
whilst the extremists of the party left the country and settled
in Holland, Here they were for a time called Brownists, after
one who had been their leader in separation, but later they took
the name of Independents, as indicating their peculiar theory of
the governmental independence of each separate congregation.
From these Brownists came the "Pilgrim Fathers" who, on 6
December, 1620, sailed from Plymouth in the "Mayflower", and
settled in New England.
With the death of Elizabeth the hopes of the Puritans revived.
Their system of doctrine and government was dominant in
Scotland, and they hoped that the Scottish King James might be
induced to extend it to England. So they met him on his way to
London with their Millenary Petition, so called though the
signatories numbered only about eight hundred. In this document
they were prudent enough not to raise the question of episcopal
government, but contented themselves for the time with a request
that the ritual customs which they disliked might be
discontinued in the State Church. James promised them a
conference which met the next year at Hampton Court to consider
their grievances, and in which they were represented by four of
their leaders. These had some sharp encounters with the bishops
and chief Anglican divines, but, whilst the Puritans were set
more on domination than toleration, the king was wholly on the
side of the Anglicans, who in this hour of their triumph were in
no mood for concessions. Accordingly the conference proved
abortive, and the very same year Archbishop Bancroft, with the
king's sanction, carried through Convocation and at once
enforced the canons known as those of 1604. The purpose of this
campaign was to restore the use of the rites in question, which,
in defiance of the existing law, the Puritan incumbents had
succeeded in putting down in a great number of parishes. This
result was effected to some extent for the time, but a quarter
of a century later, when Laud began his campaign for the
restoration of decency and order, in other words, for the
enforcement of the customs to which the Puritans objected, he
was met by opposition so widespread and deep-rooted that, though
ultimately it had lasting results, the immediate effect was to
bring about his own fall and contribute largely to the outbreak
of the Rebellion, the authors of which were approximately
co-extensive with the Puritan party.
During the Civil War and the Commonwealth the Puritan mobs
wrecked the churches, the bishops were imprisoned and the
primate beheaded, the supremacy over the Church was transferred
from the Crown to the Parliament, the Solemn League and Covenant
was accepted for the whole nation, and the Westminster Assembly,
almost entirely composed of Puritans, was appointed as a
permanent committee for the reform of the Church. Next the
Anglican clergy were turned out of their benefices to make way
for Puritans, in whose behalf the Presbyterian form of
government was introduced by Parliament. But though this was now
the authorized settlement, it was found impossible to check the
vagaries of individual opinion. A religious frenzy seized the
country, and sects holding the most extravagant doctrines sprang
up and built themselves conventicles. There was licence for all,
save for popery and prelacy, which were now persecuted with
equal severity. When Cromwell attained to power, a struggle set
in between the Parliament which was predominantly Presbyterian,
and the army which was predominantly Independent. The disgust of
all sober minds with the resulting pandemonium had much to do
with creating the desire for the Restoration, and when this was
accomplished in 1660 measures were at once taken to undo the
work of the interregnum. The bishops were restored to their
sees, and the vacancies filled. The Savoy Conference was held in
accordance with the precedence of Hampton Court Conference of
1604, but proved similarly abortive. The Convocation in 1662
revised the Prayer Book in an anti-Puritan direction, and, the
Declaration of Breda notwithstanding, it was at once enforced.
All holding benefices in the country were to use this revised
Prayer Book on and after the Feast of St. Bartholomew of that
year. It was through this crisis that the term Nonconformist
obtained it technical meaning. When the feast came round a large
number who refused to conform were evicted. It is in dispute
between Nonconformist and Anglican writers how many these were,
and what were their characters: the Nonconformist writers (see
Calamy, "Life of Baxter") maintain that they exceeded 2000,
while Kennett and other reduce that number considerably,
contending that in the majority of cases the hardship was not so
grave. At least it must be acknowledged that the victims were
suffering only what they, in the days of their power, had
inflicted on their opponents, for many of whom the ejection of
the Puritans meant a return to their own. The fact that they
organized themselves outside the Established Church under the
name of Nonconformists, naturally made them the more offensive
to the authorities of Church and State, and, during the
remainder of the reign of Charles II, they were the victims of
several oppressive measures. In 1661 the Corporation Act
incapacitated from holding office in any corporation all who did
not first qualify by taking the sacrament according to the
Anglican rite; in 1664 the Conventicle Act inflicted the gravest
penalties on all who took part in any private religious service
at which more than five persons, in addition to the family were
present; in 1665 the Five Mile Act made liable to imprisonment
any Nonconformist minister who, not having taken an oath of
non-resistance, came within five miles of a town without
obtaining leave; and in 1673 the scope of the Corporation Act
was extended by the Test Act.
In 1672 Charles II attempted to mitigate the lot of the
Nonconformists by publishing a Declaration of Indulgence in
which he used in their favour the dispensing power, till then
recognized as vested in the Crown. But Parliament, meeting the
next year, forced him to withdraw this Declaration, and in
return passed the Test Act, which extended the scope of the
Corporation Act. James II, though despotic and tactless in his
methods like all the Stuarts, was, whatever prejudiced
historians have said to the contrary, a serious believer in
religious toleration for all, and was, in fact, the first who
sought to impress that ideal on the legislature of his country
by his two Declarations of Indulgence, in 1687-88, he dispensed
Nonconformists just as much as Catholics from their religious
disabilities, and his act was received by the former with a
spontaneous outburst of gratitude. it was not to their credit
that shortly after they should have been induced to cast in
their lot with the Revolution on the assurance that it would
give them all the liberties promised King James without the
necessity of sharing them with Catholics. This promise was,
however, only imperfectly carried out by the Toleration Act of
1689, which permitted the free exercise of their religion to all
Trinitarian Protestants, but did not relieve them of their civil
disabilities. Some, accordingly, of their number practiced what
was called Occasional Conformity, that is, received the Anglican
sacrament just once so as to qualify. This caused much
controversy and led eventually in 1710 to the Occasional
Conformity Act, which was devised to check it. This Act was
repealed in 1718, but many of the Nonconformists themselves
disapproved of the practice on conscientious grounds, and,
though it was often resorted to and caused grave scandals, those
who resorted to it cannot be fairly taken as representatives of
their sects. The Test Act was not repealed till 1828, the year
before the Catholic Emancipation Act was passed; the Catholics
and the Nonconformists combined their forces to obtain both
objects.
Although by the passing of the Toleration Act of 1689 the
condition of the Nonconformists was so much ameliorated, they
lapsed in the second quarter of the eighteenth century into the
prevailing religious torpor, and seemed to be on the verge of
extinction. They were rescued from this state by the outbreak of
the great Methodist movement, which resulted both in arousing
the existing Dissenting sects to a new vigour, and in adding
another which exceeded them all in number and enthusiasm.
SYDNEY F. SMITH
None
None
This subject will be treated under the following heads:
I. Origin of None;
II. None from the Fourth to the Seventh Century;
III. None in the Roman and Other Liturgies from the Seventh Century;
IV. Meaning and Symbolism of None.
I. ORIGIN OF NONE
According to an ancient Greek and Roman custom, the day was,
like the night, divided into four parts, each consisting of
three hours. As the last hour of each division gave its name to
the respective quarter of the day, the third division (from 12
to about 3) was called the None (Lat. nonus, nona, ninth). For
this explanation, which is open to objection, but is the only
probable one, see Francolinus, "De tempor. horar. canonicar.",
Rome, 1571, xxi; Bona, "De divina psalmodia", III (see also
MATINS and VIGILS). This division of the day was in vogue also
among the Jews, from whom the Church borrowed it (see Jerome,
"In Daniel," vi, 10). The following texts, moreover, favor this
view: "Now Peter and John went up into the temple at the ninth
hour of prayer" (Acts, iii, 1); "And Cornelius said: Four days
ago, unto this hour, I was praying in my house, at the ninth
hour, and behold a man stood before me" (Acts, x, 30); "Peter
went up to the higher parts of the house to pray, about the
sixth hour" (Acts, x, 9). The most ancient testimony refers to
this custom of Terce, Sext, and None, for instance Tertullian,
Clement of Alexandria, the Canons of Hipolytus, and even the
"Teaching of the Apostles". The last-mentioned precribed prayer
thrice each day, without, however, fixing the hours (Didache ton
Apostolon, n. viii).
Clement of Alexandria and likewise Tertullian, as early as the
end of the second century, expressly mention the hours of Terce,
Sext, and None, as specially set apart for prayer (Clement,
"Strom.", VII, VII, in P.G., IX, 455-8). Tertullian says
explicitly that we must always pray, and that there is no time
prescribed for prayer; he adds, nevertheless, these significant
words: "As regards the time, there should be no lax observation
of certain hours--I mean of those common hours which have long
marked the divisions of the day, the third, the sixth, and the
ninth, and which we may observe in Scripture to be more solemn
than the rest" ("De Oratione", xxiii, xxv, in P.L., I, 1191-3).
Clement and Tertullian in these passages refer only to private
prayer at these hours. The Canons of Hippolytus also speak of
Terce, Sext, and None, as suitable hours for private prayer;
however, on the two station days, Wednesday and Friday, when the
faithful assembled in the church, and perhaps on Sundays, these
hours were recited successively in public (can. xx, xxvi). St.
Cyprian mentions the same hours as having been observed under
the Old Law, and adduces reasons for the Christians observing
them also ("De Oratione", xxxiv, in P.L., IV, 541). In the
fourth century there is evidence to show that the practice had
become obligatory, at least for the monks (see the text of the
Apostolic Constitutions, St. Ephraem, St. Basil, the author of
the "De virginitate" in Baümer-Biron, op. cit. in bibliography,
pp. 116, 121, 123, 129, 186). The prayer of Prime, at six
o'clock in the morning, was not added til a later date, but
Vespers goes back to the earliest days. The texts we have cited
give no information as to what these prayers consisted of.
Evidently they contained the same elements as all other prayers
of that time--psalms recited or chanted, canticles or hymns,
either privately composed or drawn from Holy Writ, and litanies
or prayers properly so-called.
II. NONE FROM THE FOURTH TO THE SEVENTH CENTURY
The eighteenth cannon of the council of Laodicea (between 343
and 381) orders that the same prayers be always said at None and
Vespers. But it is not clear what meaning is to attached to the
words leitourgia ton euchon, used in the canon. It is likely
that reference is made to famous litanies, in which prayer was
offered for the catechumens, sinners, the faithful, and
generally for all the wants of the Church. Sozomen (in a
passage, however, which is not considered very authentic) speaks
of three psalms which the monks recited at None. In any case
this number became traditional at an early period (Sozomen,
"Hist. eccl.", III, xiv, in P.G., LXVII, 1076-7; cf,
Baümer-Biron, op. cit., I 136). Three psalms were recited at
Terce, six at Sext, and nine at None, as Cassian informs us,
though he remarks that the most common practice as to recite
three psalms at each of these hours (Cassian, "De coenob.
instit.", III, iii, in P.L., XLIX, 116). St. Ambrose speaks of
three hours of prayer, and, if with many critics we attribute to
him the three hymns "Jam surgit hora tertia", "Bis ternas horas
explicas", and "Ter horas trina solvitur", we shall have a new
constitutive element of the Little Hours in the fourth century
in the Church of Milan (Ambrose, "De virginibus", III, iv, in
P.L., XVI, 225).
In the "Peregrinatio ad loca sancta" of Etheria, (end of fourth
century), There is a more detailed description of the Office of
None. It resembles that of Sext, and is celebrated in the
basilica of the Anastasis. It is composed of psalms and
antiphons; then the bishop arrives, enters the grotto of the
Resurrection, recites a prayer there, and blesses the faithful
("Peregrinatio", p. 46; cf. Cabrol, "Etude sur la Peregrinatio
Sylviae", 45). During Lent, None is celebrated in the church of
Sion; on Sundays the office is not celebrated; it is omitted
also on Holy Saturday, but on Good Friday it is celebrated with
special solemnity (Peregrinatio, pp, 53, 66, etc.). But it is
only in the succeeding age that we find a complete description
of None, as of the other offices of the day.
III. NONE IN THE ROMAN AND OTHER LITURGIES FROM THE SEVENTH CENTURY
In the Rule of St. Benedict the four Little Hours of the day
(Prime to None) are conceived on the same plan, the formulae
alone varying. The Office begins with Deus in adjutorium, like
all the Hours; then follows a hymn, special to None; three
psalms, which do not change (Ps. cxxv, cxxvi, cxxvii), except on
Sundays and Mondays when they are replaced by three groups of
eight verses from Ps. cxviii; then the capitulum, a versicle,
the Kyrie, the Pater, the oratio, and the concluding prayers
(regula S. P. Benedicti, xvii). In the Roman Liturgy the office
of None is likewise constructed after the model of the Little
Hours of the day; it is composed of the same elements as in the
Rule of St. Benedict, with this difference, that, instead of the
three psalms, cxxv-vii, the three groups of eight verses from
Ps. cxviii are always recited. There is nothing else
characteristic of this office in this liturgy. The hymn, which
was added later, is the one already in use in the Benedictine
Office--"Rerum Deus tenax vigor". In the monastic rules prior to
the tenth century certain variations are found. Thus in the Rule
of Lerins, as in that of St. Caesarius, six psalms are recited
at None, as at Terce and Sext, with antiphon, hymn and
capitulum.
St. Aurelian follows the same tradition in his Rule "Ad
virgines", but he imposes twelve psalms at each hour on the
monks. St. Columbanus, St. Fructuosus, and St. Isidore adopt the
system of three psalms (cf. Martène, "De antiq. monach. rit.",
IV, 27). Like St. Benedict, most of these authors include hymns,
the capitulum or short lesson, a versicle, and an oratio (cf.
Martène, loc. cit.). In the ninth and tenth centuries we find
some additions made to the Office of None, in particular
litanies, collects, etc. (Martène, op. cit., IV. 28).
IV. MEANING AND SYMBOLISM OF NONE
Among the ancients the hour of None was regarded as the close of
the day's business and the time for the baths and supper
(Martial, "Epigrams", IV, viii; Horace, "Epistles", I, vii, 70).
At an early date mystical reasons for the division of the day
were sought. St. Cyprian sees in the hours of Terce, Sext and
None, which come after a lapse of three hours, an allusion to
the Trinity. He adds that these hours already consecrated to
prayer under the Old Dispensation have been sanctified in the
New Testament by great mysteries--Terce by the descent of the
Holy Ghost on the Apostles; Sext by the prayers of St. Peter,
the reception of the Gentiles into the Church, or yet again by
the crucifixion of Our Lord; None by the death of Christ ("De
oratione", xxxiv, in P.L., IV, 541). St. Basil merely recalls
that it was at the ninth hour that the Apostles Peter and John
were wont to go to the Temple to pray ("Regulae fusius tract.",
XXXVII, n. 3, in P.G., XXXI, 1013 sq.). Cassian, who adopts the
Cyprian interpretation for Terce and Sext, sees in the Hour of
None the descent of Christ into hell (De coenob. instit., III,
iii). But, as a rule, it is the death of Christ that is
commemorated at the Hour of None.
The writers of the Middle Ages have sought for other mystical
explanations of the Hour of None. Amalarius (III, vi) explains
at length, how, like the sun which sinks on the horizon at the
hour of None, man's spirit tends to lower itself also, he is
more open to temptation, and it is the time the demon selects to
try him. For the texts of the Fathers on this subject it will
Suffice to refer the reader to the above-mentioned work of
Cardinal Bona (c. ix). The same writers do not fail to remark
that the number nine was considered by the ancients an imperfect
number, an incomplete number, ten being considered perfection
and the complete number. Nine was also the number of mourning.
Among the ancients the ninth day was a day of expiation and
funeral service-- novemdiale sacrum, the origin doubtless of the
novena for the dead.
As for the ninth hour, some persons believe that it is the hour
at which our first parents were driven from the Garden of
Paradise (Bona, op. cit., ix, section 2). In conclusion, it is
necessary to call attention to a practice which emphasized the
Hour of None--it was the hour of fasting. At first, the hour of
fasting was prolonged to Vespers, that is to say, food was taken
only in the evening or at the end of the day. Mitigation of this
rigorous practice was soon introduced. Tertulian's famous
pamphlet "De jejunio", rails at length against the Psychics (i.
e. the Catholics) who end their fast on station days at the Hour
of None, while he, Tertullian, claims that he is faithful to the
ancient custom. The practice of breaking the fast at None caused
that hour to be selected for Mass and Communion, which were the
signs of the close of the day. The distinction between the
rigorous fast, which was prolonged to Vespers, and the mitigated
fast, ending at None, is met with in a large number of ancient
documents (see FAST).
FRANCOLINUS, De temp. horar. canonicar. (Rome, 1571), xxi;
AMALARIUS, De eccles. officiis, IV, vi; DURANDUS, Rationale, V,
i sq.; BONA, De divina psalmodia, ix; DUCANGE, Glossarium
infimoe Lutinitatis, s. v. Horoe canonicoe; IDEM, Glossarium
medioe Groecitatis, s. v. Orai; MARTENE, De monach. rit., IV,
12, 27, 28, etc.; HAEFTEN, Disquisit. Monasticoe, tract. ii, ix,
etc.; PROBST, Brevier u. Breviergebet (Tubigen, 1868, 22 etc.;
BAUMER-BIRON, Hist. du Breviaire, I, 63, 73, 116, etc.; CABROL
AND LECLERCQ, Monum. Liturg. (Paris, 1902), gives the texts from
the Fathers to the fourth century; TALHOFER, Handbuch der
kathol. Liturg., II (1893), 458.
F. CABROL
Non Expedit
Non Expedit
("It is not expedient").
Words with which the Holy See enjoined upon Italian Catholics
the policy of abstention from the polls in parliamentary
elections. This policy was adopted after a period of uncertainty
and of controversy which followed the promulgation of the
Constitution of the Kingdom of Italy (1861), and which was
intensified by laws hostile to the Church and, especially, to
the religious orders (1865-66). To this uncertainty the Holy
Penitentiary put an end by its decree of 29 February, 1868, in
which, in the above words, it sanctioned the motto; "Neither
elector nor elected". Until then there had been in the Italian
Parliament a few eminent representatives of Catholic
interests-Vito d'Ondes Reggio, Augusto Conti, Cesare Cantù, and
others. The principal motive of this decree was that the oath
taken by deputies might be interpreted as an approval of the
spoliation of the Holy See, as Pius IX declared in an audience
of 11 October, 1874. A practical reason for it, also, was that,
in view of the electoral law of that day, by which the
electorate was reduced to 650,000, and as the Government
manipulated the elections to suit its own purposes, it would
have been hopeless to attempt to prevent the passage of
anti-Catholic laws. On the other hand, the masses seemed
unprepared for parliamentary government, and as, in the greater
portion of Italy (Parma, Modena, Tuscany, the Pontifical States,
and the Kingdom of Naples), nearly all sincere Catholics were
partizans of the dispossessed princes, they were liable to be
denounced as enemies of Italy; they would also have been at
variance with the Catholics of Piedmont and of the provinces
wrested from Austria, and this division would have further
weakened the Catholic Parliamentary group.
As might be expected, this measure did not meet with universal
approval; the so-called Moderates accused the Catholics of
failing in their duty to society and to their country. In 1882,
the suffrage having been extended, Leo XIII took into serious
consideration the partial abolition of the restrictions
established by the Non Expedit, but nothing was actually done
(cf. "Archiv für kathol. Kirchenrecht", 1904, p. 396). On the
contrary, as many people came to the conclusion that the decree
Non Expedit was not intended to be absolute, but was only an
admonition made to apply upon one particular occasion, the Holy
Office declared (30 Dec., 1886) that the rule in question
implied a grave precept, and emphasis was given to this fact on
several subsequent occasions (Letter of Leo XIII to the Cardinal
Secretary of State, 14 May, 1895; Congregation of Extraordinary
Affairs, 27 January, 1902; Pius X, Motu proprio, 18 Dec., 1903).
Later Pius X, by his encyclical "Il fermo proposito" (11 June,
1905) modified the Non Expedit, declaring that, when there was
question of preventing the election of a "subversive" candidate,
the bishops could ask for a suspension of the rule, and invite
the Catholics to hold themselves in readiness to go to the
polls. (See Margotti, Giacomo).
Civiltà Cattolica (Rome), ser. VIII, IV, 652; VI, 51; VIII, 653;
VIII, 3l62; Questioni politico-religiose (Rome, 1905).
U. Benigni
Non-Jurors
Non-Jurors
The name given to the Anglican Churchmen who in 1689 refused to
take the oath of allegiance to William and Mary, and their
successors under the Protestant Succession Act of that year.
Their leaders on the episcopal bench (William Sancroft,
Archbishop of Canterbury, and Bishops Francis Turner of Ely,
William Lloyd of Norwich, Thomas White of Peterborough, William
Thomas of Worcester, Thomas Ken of Bath and Wells, John Lake of
Chichester, and Thomas Cartwright of Chester) were required to
take the oath before 1 August, under pain of suspension, to be
followed, if it were not taken by 1 February, by total
deprivation. Two of them died before this last date, but the
rest, persisting in their refusal, were deprived. Their example
was followed by a multitude of the clergy and laity, the number
of the former being estimated at about four hundred, conspicuous
among whom were George Hickes, Dean of Worcester, Jeremy
Collier, John Kettlewell, and Robert Nelson. A list of these
Non-jurors is given in Hickes's "Memoirs of Bishop Kettlewell",
and one further completed in Overton's "Non-jurors". The
original Non-jurors were not friendly towards James II; indeed
five of these bishops had been among the seven whose resistance
to his Declaration of Indulgence earlier in the same year had
contributed to the invitation which caused the Prince of Orange
to come over. But desiring William and Mary as regents they
distinguished between this and accepting them as sovereigns,
regarding the latter as inconsistent with the oath taken to
James. Deprived of their benefices the bishops fell into great
poverty, and suffered occasional though not systematic
persecution. That they were truly conscientious men is attested
by sacrifices courageously made for their convictions. Their
lives were edifying, some consenting to attend, as laymen, the
services in the parish churches. Still, when circumstances
permitted, they held secret services of their own, for they
truly believed that they had the true Anglican succession which
it was their duty to preserve. Hence they felt, after some
hesitation, that it was incumbent on them to consecrate others
who should succeed them. The first who were thus consecrated, on
24 February, 1693, were George Hickes and John Wagstaffe. On 29
May, 1713, the other Non-juring bishops being all dead, Hickes
consecrated Jeremy Collier, Samuel Hawes, and Nathaniel Spinkes.
When James II died in 1701, a crisis arose for these
separatists. Some of them then rejoined the main body of their
co-religionists, whilst others held out on the ground that their
oath had been both to James and to his rightful heirs. These
latter afterwards disagreed among themselves over a question of
rites. The death of Charles Edward in 1788 took away the raison
d'etre for the schism, but a few lingered on till the end of the
eighteenth century. In Scotland in 1689 the whole body of
Bishops refused the oath and became Non-jurors, but the
resulting situation was somewhat different. As soon as the
Revolution broke out the Presbyterians ousted the Episcopalians
and became the Established Kirk of Scotland. Thus the Non-jurors
were left without rivals of their own communion, though they had
at times to suffer penalties for celebrating their unlawful
worship. Their difficulties terminated in 1788, when on the
death of Charles Edward they saw no further reason for
withholding the oath to George III.
SYDNEY F. SMITH
Claude-Adrien Nonnotte
Claude-Adrien Nonnotte
Controversialist; b. in Besançon, 29 July, 1711; d. there, 3
September, 1793. At nineteen he entered the Society of Jesus and
preached at Amiens, Versailles, and Turin. He is chiefly known
for his writings against Voltaire. When the latter began to
issue his "Essai sur les moeurs" (1754), an attack on
Christianity, Nonnotte published, anonymously, the "Examen
critique ou Réfutation du livre des moeurs"; and when Voltaire
finished his publication (1758), Nonnotte revised his book,
which he published at Avignon (2 vols., 1762). He treated,
simply, calmly, and dispassionately, all the historical and
doctrinal errors contained in Voltaire's work. Nonnotte's work
reached the sixth edition in 1774. Voltaire, exasperated,
retorted in his "Eclaircissements historiques ", and for twenty
years continued to attack Nonnotte with sarcasm, insult, or
calumny. Nevertheless Nonnotte's publication continued to
circulate, and was translated into Italian, German, Polish, and
Portuguese. After the suppression of the Jesuits, Nonnotte
withdrew to Besançon and in 1779 added a third volume to the
"Erreurs de Voltaire", namely, "L'esprit de Voltaire dans ses
écrits", for which it was impossible to obtain the approval of
the Paris censor. Against the "Dictionnaire philosophique", in
which Voltaire had recapitulated, under a popular form, all his
attacks on Christianity, Nonnotte published the "Dictionnaire
philosophique de la religion" (Avignon, 1772), in which he
replied to all the objections then brought against religion. The
work was translated into Italian and German. Towards the end of
his life Nonnotte published "Les philosophes des trots premiers
siècles" (Paris, 1789), in which he contrasted the ancient and
the modern philosophers. The work was translated into German. He
also wrote "Lettre à un ami sur les honnêtetés littéraires"
(Paris, 1766), and "Réponse aux Éclaircissements historiques et
aux additions de Voltaire" (Paris, 1774). These publications
obtained for their author a eulogistic Brief from Clement XIII
(1768), and the congratulations of St. Alphonsus Liguori, who
declared that he had always at hand his "golden works" in which
the chief truths of the Faith were defended with learning and
propriety against the objections of Voltaire and his friends.
Nonnotte was also the author of "L'emploi de l'argent" (Avignon,
1787), translated from Maffei; "Le gouvernement des paroisses"
(posthumous, Paris, 1802). All were published under the title
"Oeuvres de Nonnotte" (Besançon, 1819).
L'ami de la religion, XXV, 385; SABATIER DE CASTRES, les trots
siecles de la litterature francaise (The Hague, 1781);
SOMMERVOGEL, Bib. de la C. de Jesus (Paris, 1894), V, 1803-7;
IX, 722.
ANTOINE DEGERT
Nonnus
Nonnus
Nonnus, of Panopolis in Upper Egypt (c. 400), the reputed author
of two poems in hexameters; one, Dionysiaka, about the mysteries
of Bacchus, and the other the "Paraphrase of the Fourth Gospel".
Dräseke proposes Apollinaris of Laodicea (Theolog.
Litteraturzeitung, 1891, 332), and a fourteenth-century
Manuscript suggests Ammonius as the author of the "Paraphrase",
but the similarity of style makes it very probable that the two
poems have the same author. Nonnus would then seem to have been
a pagan when he wrote the first, and afterwards to have become a
Christian. Nothing else is known of his life. The "Paraphrase"
is not completely extant; 3750 lines of it, now divided into
twenty-one chapters, are known. It has some importance as
evidence of the text its author used, and has been studied as a
source of textual criticism (Blass, "Evang. Sec. Ioh. cum variæ
lectionis delectu", Leipzig, 1902; Janssen in "Texte u.
Untersuchungen", XXIII, 4, Leipzig, 1903). Otherwise it has
little interest or merit. It is merely a repetition of the
Gospel, verse by verse, inflated with fantastic epithets and the
addition of imaginary details. The "Paraphrase" was first
published by the Aldine Press in 1501. The edition of Heinsius
(Leyden, 1627) is reprinted in P. G., XLIII, 749-1228. The best
modern edition is by Scheindler: "Nonni Panopolitani paraphrasis
s. evang. Ioannei" (Leipzig, 1881).
FABRICIUS-HARLES, Bibl. græca, VIII (Hamburg, 1802), 601-12;
KOECHLY, Opuscula philologica, I (Leipzig, 1881), 421-46;
KINKEL, Die Ueberlieferung der Paraphrase des en. Ioh. von
Nonnos, I (Zurich, 1870); TIEDKE, Nonniana (Berlin, 1883).
ADRIAN FORTESCUE.
St. Norbert
St. Norbert
Born at Kanten on the left bank of the Rhine, near Wesel, c.
1080; died at Magdeburg, 6 June, 1134. His father, Heribert,
Count of Gennep, was related to the imperial house of Germany,
and his house of Lorraine. A stately bearing, a penetrating
intellect, a tender, earnest heart, marked the future apostle.
Ordained subdeacon, Norbert was appointed to a canonry at
Kanten. Soon after he was summoned to the Court of Frederick,
Prince-Bishop of Cologne, and later to that of Henry V, Emperor
of Germany, whose almoner he became. The Bishopric of Cambray
was offered to him, but refused. Norbert allowed himself to be
so carried away by pleasure that nothing short of a miracle of
grace could make him lead the life of an earnest cleric. One
day, while riding to Vreden, a village near Kanten, he was
overtaken by a storm. A thunderbolt fell at his horse's feet;
the frightened animal threw its rider, and for nearly an hour he
lay like one dead. Thus humbled, Norbert became a sincere
penitent. Renouncing his appointment at Court, he retired to
Kanten to lead a life of penance.
Understanding, however, that he stood in need of guidance, he
placed himself under the direction of Cono, Abbot of Siegburg.
In gratitude to Cono, Norbert founded the Abbey of Fürstenberg,
endowed it with a portion of his property, and made it over to
Cono and his Benedictine successors. Norbert was then in his
thirty-fifth year. Feeling that he was called to the priesthood,
he presented himself to the Bishop of Cologne, from whose hands
he received Holy Orders. After a forty days' retreat at Siegburg
Abbey, he celebrated his first Mass at Kanten and preached an
earnest discourse on the transitory character of this world's
pleasures and on man's duties toward God. The insults of some
young clerics, one of whom even spat in his face, he bore with
wonderful patience on that occasion. Norbert often went to
Siegburg Abbey to confer with Cono, or to the cell of Ludolph, a
holy and learned hermit-priest, or to the Abbey or Klosterrath
near Rolduc. Accused as an innovator at the Council of Fritzlar,
he resigned all his ecclesiastical preferments, disposed of his
estate, and gave all to the poor, reserving for himself only
what was needed for the celebration of Holy Mass. Barefooted and
begging his bread, he journeyed as far as St. Giles, in
Languedoc, to confer with Pope Gelasius concerning his future
life. Unable to keep Norbert at his court, Gelasius granted him
faculties to preach wherever he judged proper. At Valenciennes
Norbert met (March, 1119) Burchard, Bishop of Cambray, whose
chaplain joined him in his apostolic journeys in France and
Belgium. After the death of Pope Gelasius (29 January, 1119)
Norbert wished to confer with his successor, Calixtus II, at the
Council of Reims (Oct., 1119). The pope and Bartholomew, Bishop
of Laon, requested Norbert to found a religious order in the
Diocese of Laon, so that his work might be perpetuated after his
death. Norbert chose a lonely, marshy valley, shaped in the form
of a cross, in the Forest of Coucy, about ten miles from Laon,
and named Prémontré. Hugh of Fosses, Evermode of Cambray, Antony
of Nivelles, seven students of the celebrated school of Anselm,
and Ralph at Laon were his first disciples. The young community
at first lived in huts of wood and clay, arranged like a camp
around the chapel of St. John the Baptist, but they soon built a
larger church and a monastery for the religious who joined them
in increasing numbers. Going to Cologne to obtain relics for
their church, Norbert discovered through a vision, the spot
where those of St. Ursula and her companions, of St. Gereon, and
of other martyrs lay hidden.
Women also wished to become members of the new religious order.
Blessed Ricwera, widow of Count Raymond of Clastres, was St.
Norbert's first spiritual daughter, and her example was followed
by women of the best families of France and Germany. Soon after
this, Norbert returned to Germany and preached in Westphalia,
when Godfrey, Count of Kappenberg, offered himself and gave
three of his castles to be made into abbeys. On his return from
Germany, Norbert was met by Theobald, Count of Champagne, who
wished to become a member of the order; but Norbert insisted
that God wished Theobald to marry and do good in the world.
Theobald agreed to this, but begged Norbert to prescribe a rule
of life. Norbert prescribed a few rules and invested Theobald
with the white scapular of the order, and thus, in 1122, the
Third Order of St. Norbert was instituted. The saint was soon
requested by the Bishop of Cambrai to go and combat the infamous
heresies which Tanchelin had promulgated, and which had their
centre at Antwerp. As a result of his preaching the people of
the Low Countries abjured their heresies, and many brought back
to him the Sacred Species which they had stolen and profaned. In
commemoration of this, St. Norbert has been proclaimed the
Apostle of Antwerp, and the feast of his triumph over the
Sacramentarian heresy is celebrated in the Archdiocese of
Mechlin on 11 July.
The rapid growth of the order was marvellous, and bishops
entreated Norbert to found new houses in their dioceses.
Floreffe, Viviers, St-Josse, Ardenne, Cuissy, Laon, Liège,
Antwerp, Varlar, Kappenberg and others were founded during the
first five years of the order's existence. Though the order had
already been approved by the pope's legates, Norbert,
accompanied by three disciples, journeyed to Rome, in 1125, to
obtain its confirmation by the new pope, Honorius II. The Bull
of Confirmation is dated 27 February, 1126. Passing through
Würzburg on his return to Prémontré, Norbert restored sight to a
blind woman; the inhabitants were so full of admiration for him
that they spoke of electing him successor to the bishop who had
just died, but Norbert and his companions fled secretly. Soon
after this, on his way to Ratisbon, he passed through Spier,
where Lothair, King of the Romans, was holding a diet, the papal
legate being present. Deputies form Magdeburg had also come to
solicit a successor to their late archbishop, Rudger.
The papal legate and Lothair used their authority, and obliged
Norbert to accept the vacant see. On taking possession of it, he
was grieved to find that much property belonging to the Church
and the poor had been usurped by powerful men, and that many of
the clergy led scandalous lives. He succeeded in converting some
of the transgressors, but others only became more obstinate, and
three attempts were made on his life. He resisted Pietro di
Leoni, who, as antipope, had assumed the name of Anacletus and
was master in Rome, exerting himself at the Council of Reims to
attach the German Emperor and the German bishops and princes
more firmly to the cause of Pope Innocent II.
Though his health was increasingly delicate, Norbert accompanied
Lothair and his army to Rome to put the rightful pope on the
Chair of St. Peter, and he resisted the pope's concession of the
investiture to the emperor. Norbert, whose health was now much
impaired, accompanied the Emperor Lothair back to Germany and
for some time remained with him, assisting him as his chancellor
and adviser. In March, 1134, Norbert had become so feeble that
he had to be carried to Magdeburg where he died on the Wednesday
after Pentecost. By order of the emperor, his body was laid at
rest in the Norbertine Abbey of St. Mary, at Magdeburg. His tomb
became glorious by the numerous miracles wrought there. The
Bollandists say that there is no document to prove that he was
canonized by Innocent III. His canonization was by Gregory XIII
in 1582, and his cultus was executed to the whole church by
Clement X.
On 2 May, 1627, the saint's body was translated from Magdeburg,
then in the hands of Protestants, to the Abbey of Strahov, a
suburb of Prague in Bohemia. The Chancery of Prague preserved
the abjurations of six hundred Protestants who, on the day, or
during the octave, of the translation, were reconciled to the
Catholic Church. On that occasion the Archbishop of Prague, at
the request of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities,
proclaimed St. Norbert the Patron and Protector of Bohemia. (For
history of the order, see PREMONSTRATENSIAN CANONS.)
Until the middle of the last century, the principal source for
the biography of St. Norbert was a MS. usually attributed to
HUGO, the saint's first disciple and successor, of which
numerous copies had been made. That belonging to the Abbey of
Romersdorf, near Coblentz, Vita Norberti, auctore canonico
præadjuvante Hugone abbate, Fossense is now in the British
Museum. An abridgment of this by SURIUS was printed in 1572; the
whole MS., with variants, was published by ABBOT VANDER STERRE
in 1656; again, with commentaries and notes, by PAPEBROCH in
Acta SS., XX. Then followed: VANDER STERRE, Het leven van den H.
Norbertus (Antwerp, 1623); DU PRÉ, La Vie de S. Norbert (Paris,
1627); CAMUS, L'Homme apostolique en S. Norbert (Caen, 1640); C.
L. HUGO, La Vie de S. Norbert (Luxemburg, 1704); ILLANA,
Historia del Gran Padre y Patriarca S. Norberto (Salamanca,
1755).
In 1856, a MS. Life of St. Norbert discovered in the Royal
Library, Berlin, was published in PERTZ, Mon. Germ. Hist.,
differing in many particulars from the HUGO MSS. mentioned
above. The discovery occasioned a great revival of interest in
the subject, and there followed: TENKOFF, De S. Norberto Ord.
Præm. Conditore commentatio historica (Münster, 1855); SCHOLZ,
Vita S. Norberti (Breslau, 1859); WINTER, Die Prämonstratenser
der 12. Jahrh. Berlin, 1865); ROSENMUND, Die ältesten
Biographien des h. Norbertus (Berlin, 1874); HERTEL, Leben des
h. Norbert (Leipzig, 1881). MÜHLBACHER, Die streitige Papstwahl
des Jahres 1130 (Innsbruck, 1876). In the following three works,
the publication of Pertz and other lately discovered documents
have been used: GEUDENS, Life of St. Norbert (London, 1886);
MADELAINE, Histoire de S. Norbert (Lillie, 1886) (the fullest
and best-written biography of the saint so far published); VAN
DEN ELSEN, Levensgeschiedenis van den H. Norbertus (Averbode,
1890).
F.M. GEUDENS
Norcia
Norcia
(NORSIN).
A diocese and city in Perugia, Italy, often mentioned in Roman
history. In the ninth century it was a republic. The Dukes of
Spoleto often contended with the popes for its possession; when,
in 1453, the communes of Spoleto and Cascia declared war against
Norcia, it was defended by the pope's general Cesarini. It was
the birthplace of St. Benedict; the abbots St. Spes and St.
Eutychius; the monk Florentius; the painter Parasole; and the
physician Benedict Pegardati. The chief industry is preserving
meats. The first known bishop was Stephen (c. 495). From the
ninth century, Norcia was in the Diocese of Spoleto, as it
appears to have been temporarily in the time of St. Gregory the
Great. The see was re-established in 1820, and its first bishop
was Cajetan Bonani. Immediately dependent on Rome, it has 100
parishes; 28,000 inhabitants; 7 religious houses of women; 3
schools for girls.
CAPPELLETTI, Le Chiese d'Italia, IV.
U. BENIGNI
Post-Reformation Catholic Dukes of Norfolk
Catholic Dukes of Norfolk
(Since the Reformation)
Under this title are accounts only of the prominent Catholic
Dukes of Norfolk since the Reformation; a list of the Dukes,
from the time the title passed to the Howard family, is
prefixed.
1. John (1430-1485), created first duke of the Howard line in
1483, died in battle in 1485.
2. Thomas (1443-1524), son. Became duke in 1514.
3. Thomas (1473-1554), son. Succeeded in 1524.
4. Thomas (1536-1572), grandson. Succeeded in 1554. Beheaded in
1572.
5. Thomas (1627-1677), great-great-grandson. Dukedom restored in
1660.
6. Henry (1628-1684), brother. Succeeded in 1677.
7. Henry (1655-1701), son. Succeeded in 1684.
8. Thomas (1683-1732), nephew. Succeeded in 1601.
9. Edward (1685-1777), brother. Succeeded in 1;732.
10. Charles (1720-1786), descendant of seventh duke. Succeeded in
1777.
11. Charles (1746-1815), son. Succeeded in 1;786.
12. Bernard Edward (1765-1842), third cousin. Succeeded in 1815.
13. Henry Charles (1791-1856), son. Succeeded in 1842.
14. Henry Granville (1815-1860), son. Succeeded in 1856.
15. Henry Fitzalan (1847--), son. Succeeded in 1860.
Thomas, Third Duke of Norfolk
Eldest son of Thomas Howard, the second duke, and Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir F. Tilney of Ashwellthorpe Hall, Norfolk. In
1495 he was married to Lady Anne, daughter of Edward IV. He
fought as captain of the vanguard at Flodden Field in 1513. In
1514 he was created Earl of Surrey, and joined his father in
opposing Wolsey's policy of depressing the old nobility. In
1520-21 he endeavoured to keep peace in Ireland; recalled, he
took command of the English fleet against France, and
successfully opposed the French in Scotland. In 1524 he became
duke, and was appointed commissioner to treat for peace with
France. With peace abroad came the burning question of Henry's
divorce. Norfolk, uncle of Anne Boleyn, sided with the king and,
as president of the privy council, hastened the cardinal's ruin.
He became Henry's tool in dishonourable purposes and he
acquiesced in his lust for the spiritual supremacy. With
Cromwell, he obtained a grant of a portion of the possessions of
the Priory of Lewes and other monastic spoils. He was created
earl-marshal in 1533. In 1535 Norfolk was a leading judge in the
trial of Sir Thomas More. In 1536 he disbanded the "Pilgrimage
of Grace" with false assurances, but returned next year to do
"dreadful execution". In 1536 he hanged in chains, at York,
Fathers Rochester and Walworth, two Carthusians. Drastic
measures of devastation marked his whole career as a military
leader. He shared the King's zeal against the inroads of German
Protestantism. In 1534 he had "staid purgatory" and was always
in favour of the old orthodoxy, as far as he might be allowed to
support it. In 1539, when the bishops could not agree concerning
the practices of religion, Norfolk proposed the Six Articles to
the Lords, theology thus becoming matter for the whole House. As
an old man he served against a rising in Scotland, and in the
French was of 1544. In 1546 he was accused of high treason.
Evidence, however, was not conclusive against him until
Hertford, and other keen enemies, prevailed upon him, as a
prisoner in the Tower, to sign his confession and throw himself
on the King's mercy. A bill of attainder was passed in
Parliament, and orders for his immediate execution would have
been carried into effect had not Henry died on the previous
evening. He remained a prisoner in the Tower the whole of Edward
VI's reign, but was released on Mary's accession, and restored
to the dukedom in 1553.
His long experience as lord high steward and lieutenant-general
made him useful to the queen, but he lost favour by his rashness
and his failure to crush Wyat's rebellion [See Gairdner,
"Lollardy and the Reformation" (London, 1908); Gairdner, "Hist.
of Engl. Church in XVIth Century" (London, 1902); "Letters and
Papers, Henry VIII", various volumes; Creighton, "Dict. of Nat.
Biog.", X (London, 1908).]
Thomas, Fourth Duke of Norfolk
Son of Henry Howard, Earl of Surry and Frances Vere, daughter of
John, Earl of Oxford. After the execution of his father, in
1547, he was, by order of privy council, committed to the charge
of his aunt, and Foxe, "the martyrologist", was assigned as his
tutor, probably to educate him in Protestant principles. In
1553, when Mary released his grandfather from prison, Bishop
White of Lincoln became his tutor. Thomas succeeded his
grandfather, as duke, in 1554, and became earl-marshal. He
married, in 1556, Lady Mary Fitzalan, daughter of Henry, twelfth
Earl of Arundel; in 1558, Margaret, daughter of Thomas Lord
Audley of Walden; and, in 1567, Elizabeth, widow of Thomas Dacre
of Gilsland, who had three daughters. By obtaining a grant of
their wardship and intermarrying with them his own three sons,
the issue of former marriages, he absorbed the great estates of
the Dacre family. In 1568, he was again a widower, the only
English duke, the wealthiest man in England, popular and
ambitious. Elizabeth was eager to win one of Norfolk's position
and he was given a part in the expulsion of the French troops
from Scotland. With other commissioners, he was appointed to sit
at York and inquire into the causes of the variance between Mary
Stuart and her subjects. Circumstances, at the beginning of
1569, combined to awaken the fears of English nobles, and
Arundel, Pembroke, Leicester, and others saw the advantage to be
gained by the marriage, first suggested by Maitland, between
Norfolk and Mary; that when married she might be safely restored
to the Scottish throne and be recognized as Elizabeth's
successor. Protestant nobles, however, looked on the affair with
suspicion, and Catholic lords in the north were impatient of
long delay. But, even after the council had voted her the
settlement of the English succession by Mary's marriage with an
English noble, Norfolk proceeded with great caution, withdrew
from court, aroused Elizabeth's suspicion and was committed to
the Tower, in October, 1569. On his abject submission to the
queen and renunciation of all purpose of his alliance with Mary,
he was released in 1560. He did not keep his promise; he
continued to correspond with the Queen of Scots, was found to be
in negotiation with Ridolfi, and through him with Philip and the
Catholic Powers abroad, concerning an invasion of England. He
was arraigned for high treason in 1571. After eighteen weeks'
confinement in the Tower, deprived of books, informed of the
trial only on the previous evening, kept in ignorance of the
charges until he heard the indictment at the bar, and refused
the aid of counsel to suggest advice, on the evidence of letters
and extorted confessions from others, he was condemned to death
by the Earl of Shrewsbury, the Lord High Steward, and twenty-six
peers as assessors (judges, all selected by the queen's
ministers and many of them his known enemies). After much
hesitation on the part of Elizabeth and a petition from
Parliament, on 2 June, 1572, he was executed. His sympathy
seemed to be always with the Catholic party, but his policy was
two-faced, and he was a professed adherent of the Reformed
religion. Circumstances made it expedient for him always to
temporize. He seems to have been led on by the course of events
and not to have realized the result of his actions. [See State
Trials, I (London, 1776), 82; Froude,"Hist. of Eng.", IV
(London, 1866), XX; Labanoff, "Lettres, etc. de Marie Stuart"
(1844), earlier ed. tr. (1842); Anderson, "Collections relating
to Mary" (Edinburgh, 1727); Creighton in "Dict. of Nat. Biog.",
X (London, 1908).]
Henry, Sixth Duke of Norfolk
Second son of Henry Frederick Howard, third Earl of Arundel and
Lady Elizabeth Stuart, was educated abroad, as a Catholic. In
1660 he went as ambassador extraordinary to Morocco. In 1677 he
succeeded his brother as duke, having previously been made
hereditary earl-marshal. During the Commonwealth and
Protectorate he lived in total seclusion. In January, 1678, he
took his seat in the House of Lords, but in August the first
development of the Titus Oates Plot was followed by an Act for
disabling Catholics from sitting in either house of Parliament.
He would not comply with the oath and, suspected of doubtful
loyalty, withdrew to Bruges for three years. There he built a
house attached to a Franciscan convent and enjoyed freedom of
worship and scope for his munificence. He was a man of
benevolent disposition and gave away the greater part of his
splendid library, and grounds and rooms to the Royal Society,
and the Arundelian marbles to Oxford University. Jealous of the
family honour, he compounded a debt of £200,000 contracted by
his grandfather. [See Evelyn's "Miscellaneous Writings" (London,
1825).]
Henry, Seventh Duke of Norfolk
Son of Henry, sixth Duke, and Lady Anne Somerset, was at first a
good Catholic and for four months held out against subscribing
to the oath as a peer in the House of Lords. Afterwards he
became a pervert.
Thomas, Eighth Duke of Norfolk
Brought up a Catholic but perverted on succeeding to the
dukedom.
Edward, Ninth Duke of Norfolk
Did much to promote a more liberal treatment of Catholics by
offering a home at Norfolk House to Frederick, Prince of Wales,
and his wife at the time of the birth of their son, afterwards
George III.
Charles, Eleventh Duke of Norfolk
Educated at the English College at Douai; was a man of dissolute
life and had conformed to the State religion by 1780.
Bernard Edward, Twelfth Duke of Norfolk
Eldest son of Henry Howard of Glosson, and Juliana, daughter of
Sir William Molyneux of Willow, Nottinghamshire. In 1789 he
married Elizabeth Bellasis, daughter of Henry, Earl of
Fauconberg, but was divorced, by Act of Parliament, in 1794. On
the death of his third cousin, in 1815, he succeeded to the
dukedom. Although a Catholic, he was allowed, by Act of
Parliament in 1824, to exercise the hereditary office of
earl-marshal. After the Rebel Bill of 1829 he was admitted to
the full exercise of his ancestral privileges; he took his seat
in the House of Lords, where he was a steady supporter of the
Reform Bill, and in 1830 was nominated as privy councillor. [See
Gent. Mag., I (1842), 542.]
Henry Charles, Thirteenth Duke of Norfolk
Only son of Bernard Edward and Elizabeth Bellasis. He was
baptized a Catholic but did not practise his religion. In 1814
he married Lady Charlotte Leveson-Gower, daughter of George,
Duke of Sutherland, and in 1815 he became, as heir, Earl of
Arundel and Surrey. In 1829, after the Catholic Emancipation
Act, he took the oath and his seat in the House of Commons (the
first Catholic since the Reformation). In 1841 he sat in the
House of Lords. In politics he was a stanch member of the Whig
party. In 1842 he succeeded his father as Duke of Norfolk. He
died at Arundel in 1856. Canon Tierney was chaplain at the time
fo his death. [See London Times (19 Feb., 1856); Gent. Mag.
(April, 1856), 419.]
Henry Granville Fitzalan, Fourteenth Duke of Norfolk
Eldest son of Henry Charles Howard and Charlotte, daughter of
the Duke of Sutherland, was educated privately, and at Trinity
College, Cambridge. He entered the army but retired on attaining
the rank of captain. In 1839 he married the daughter of Admiral
Sir Edmund (afterwards Lord) Lyons, the ambassador at Athens.
From 1837 to 1842 he was a member of the House of Commons, a
Whig, until he broke with his party on the introduction of the
Ecclesiastical Titles Bill of 1850. In 1856, as Duke of Norfolk,
he took his seat in the House of Lords. In 1839 he attended the
services of Notre-Dame in Paris and made the acquaintance of
Montalembert. This resulted in his conversion to Catholicism,
and Montalembert describes him as "the most pious layman of our
times". Cardinal Wiseman, in a pastoral letter, at the time of
his death in 1860, referred to his benevolent nature: "There is
not a form of want or a peculiar application of alms which has
not received his relief or co-operation". He wrote: "Collections
relative to Catholic Poor Schools throughout England", MS.
folio, 134 pp., 1843; "A few Remarks on the Social and Political
Condition of British Catholics" (London, 1847); Letter to J. P.
Plumptre on the Bull "In Coe;na Domini" (London, 1848);
"Observations on Diplomatic Relations with Rome" 1848. He edited
from original MSS. the "Lives of Philip Howard and Ann Dacres"
(London, 1857 and 1861). [See "Gent. Mag." (Jan., 1861); "London
Times" (27 Nov. and 4 Dec., 1860); "London Table" (1 Dec.,
1860); H. W. Freeland, "Remarks on the Letters of the Duke of
Norfolk" (1874); Montalembert, "Le Correspondant" (25 Dec.,
1860), 766-776, tr. by Goddard at the end of his Montalembert,
"Pius IX and France" (Boston, Mass., 1861).]
Tierney, Castle and Antiquities of Arundel (London, 1834);
Howard, Memorials of the Howards (Corby Castle, 1834); Gillow,
Biog. Dict. of Engl. Catholics (London, 1885-1902); Lingard,
History of England (London, 1855); Dict. Nat. Biog. (London,
1908), s. v. Howard.
S. Anselm Parker
Henry Noris
Henry Noris
Cardinal, b. at Verona, 29 August, 1631, of English ancestry; d.
at Rome, 23 Feb., 1704. He studied under the Jesuits at Rimini,
and there entered the novitiate of the Hermits of Saint
Augustine. After his probation he was sent to Rome to study
theology. He taught the sacred sciences at Pesaro, Perugia, and
Padua, where he held the chair of church history in the
university from 1674 to 1692. There he completed "The History of
Pelagianism" and "Dissertations on the Fifth General Council',
the two works which, before and after his death, occasioned much
controversy. Together with the "Vindiciae Augustinianae" they
were printed at Padua in 1673, having been approved by a special
commission at Rome. Noris himself went to Rome to give an
account of his orthodoxy before this commission; and Clement X
named him one of the qualificators of the Holy Office, in
recognition of his learning and sound doctrine. But, after the
publication of these works, further charges were made against
him of teaching the errors of Jansenius and Baius. In a brief to
the prefect of the Spanish Inquisition, 31 July, 1748, ordering
the name of Noris to be taken off the list of forbidden books,
Benedict XIV says that these charges were never proved; that
they were rejected repeatedly by the Holy Office, and repudiated
by the popes who had honoured him. In 1692 Noris was made
assistant Librarian in the Vatican by Innocent XII. On 12
December, 1695, he was named Cardinal-Priest of the Title of S.
Agostino. In 1700 he was given full charge of the Vatican
Library. His works, apart from some minor controversial
treatises, are highly valued for accuracy and thoroughness of
research. In addition to those already named, the most important
are: "Annus et Epochae Syro-Macedonum in Vetustis Urbium Syriae
Expositae"; "Fasti Consulares Anonimi e Manuscripto Bibliothecae
Caesareae Deprompti"; "Historia Controversiae de Uno ex
Trinitate Passo"; "Apologia Monachorum Scythiae"; "Historia
Donatistarum e Schedis Norisianis Excerptae"; "Storia delle
Investiture delle Dignita Ecclesiastiche". Seleet portions of
his works have been frequently reprinted, at Padua, 1673-1678,
1708; at Louvain, 1702; at Bassano, edited by Berti, 1769. The
best is the edition of all the works, in five vols. folio by the
Ballerini Brothers, Verona, 1729-1741.
HURTER, Nomenclator. Katholik, I (1884), 181; PIETRO AND
GIROLAMO BALLERINI, Vita Norisii in their ed. of Noris' works,
IV (Verona, 1729-41); a shorter Life is prefixed to the edition
of Padua, 1708; LANTERI, Postrema Saecula Sex Religionis
Augustinianae, III (Tolentino, 1858), 64 sq.
FRANCIS E. TOURSCHER
Normandy
Normandy
An ancient French province, from which five "departments" were
formed in 1790: Seine-Inférieure (Archdiocese of Rouen), Eure
(Diocese of Evreux), Calvados (Diocese of Bayeux), Orne (Diocese
of Séez), Manche (Diocese of Coutances). The Normans, originally
Danish or Norwegian pirates, who from the ninth to the tenth
century made numerous incursions into France, gave their name to
this province. In the Gallo-Roman period Normandy formed the
so-called second Lyonnaise province (Secunda Lugdunensis). At
Thorigny within the territory of this province was found an
inscription very important for the history of the worship of the
emperors in Gaul and of the provincial assemblies; the latter,
thus meeting for this worship, kept up a certain autonomy
throughout the conquered territory of Gaul. Under the
Merovingians the Kingdom of Neustria annexed Normandy. About 843
Sydroc and his bands of pillagers opened the period of Northman
invasions. The policy of Charles the Bald in giving money or
lands to some of the Northmen for defending his land against
other bands was unfortunate, as these adventurers readily broke
their oath. In the course of their invasions they slew (858) the
Bishop of Bayeux and (859) the Bishop of Beauvais. The
conversion (862) of the Northman, Weland, marked a new policy on
the part of the Carlovingians; instead of regarding the invaders
as intruders it was admitted that they might become Christians.
Unlike the Saracens, then disturbing Europe, the Northmen were
admitted to a place and a rôle in Christendom.
The good fortune of the Northmen began with Rollo in Normandy
itself. It was long believed that Rollo came by sea into the
valley of the Seine in 876, but the date is rather 886. He
destroyed Bayeux, pillaged Lisieux, besieged Paris, and reached
Lorraine, finally establishing himself at Rouen, where a truce
was concluded. His installation was considered so definitive
that in the beginning of the tenth century Witto, Archbishop of
Rouen, consulted the Archbishop of Reims as to the means of
converting the Northmen. Rollo's settlement in Normandy was
ratified by the treaty of St. Clair-sur-Epte (911), properly
speaking only a verbal agreement between Rollo and Charles the
Simple. As Duke of Normandy Rollo remained faithful to the
Carlovingian dynasty in its struggles with the ancestors of the
future Capetians. These cordial relations between the ducal
family of Normandy and French royalty provoked under Rollo's
successor William Long-sword (931-42) a revolt of the pagan
Northmen settled in Cotentin and Bessin. One of their lords
(jarls), Riulf by name was the leader of the movement. The
rebels reproached the duke with being no longer a true
Scandinavian and "treating the French as his kinsmen".
Triumphant for a time, they were finally muted and the
aristocratic spirit of the jarls had to bow before the
monarchical principles which William Long-sword infused into his
government.
Another attempt at a revival of paganism was made under Richard
I Sans Peur (the Fearless, 942-96). He was only two years old at
his father's death. A year later (943) the Scandinavian Setric,
landing in Normandy with a band of pirates, induced a number of
Christian Northmen to apostatize; among them, one Turmod who
sought to make a pagan of the young duke. Hugh the Great, Duke
of France, and Louis IV, King of France, defeated these invaders
and after their victory both sought to set up their own power in
Normandy to the detriment of the young Richard whom Louis IV
held in semi-captivity at Laon. The landing in Normandy of the
King of Denmark, Harold Bluetooth, and the defeat of Louis IV,
held prisoner for a time (945), constrained the latter to sign
the treaty of Gerberoy, by which the young Duke Richard was
reestablished in his possessions and became, according to the
chronicler Dudon de Saint-Quentin, a sort of King of Normandy.
The attacks later directed against Richard by the Carlovingian
King Lothaire and Thibaut le Tricheur, Count of Chartres,
brought a fresh descent on France of the soldiers of Harold
Bluetooth. Ascending the Seine these Danes so devastated the
country of Chartres that when they withdrew, according to the
chronicler Guillaume of Jumièges, there was not heard even the
bark of a dog. When Eudes of Chartres, brother-in-law of Richard
II the Good, again threatened Normandy (996-1020) it was once
more the Scandinavian chieftains, Olaf of Norway and Locman, who
came to the duke's aid. So attached were these Scandinavians to
paganism that their leader Olaf, having been baptized by the
Archbishop of Rouen, was slain by them. Although they had become
Christian, all traces of Scandinavian paganism did not disappear
under the first dukes of Normandy. Rollo walked barefoot before
the reliquary of St. Oueu, but he caused many relies to be sold
in England, and on his death-bed, according to Adhémar de
Chabannes, simultaneously caused prisoners to be sacrificed to
the Scandinavian gods and gave much gold to the churches.
Richard I was a great builder of churches, among them St. Ouen
and the primitive cathedral of Rouen, St. Michel du Mont, and
the Trinity at Fécamp. Richard II, zealous for monastic reform,
brought from Burgundy Guillaume de St. Bénigne; the Abbey of
Fécamp, reformed by him, became a model monastery and a much
frequented school.
All these dukes protected the Church, but the feudal power of
the Church, which in many States at that time limited the
central power, was but little developed in Normandy, and it was
to their kinsmen that the dukes of Normandy most often gave the
Archdiocese of Rouen and other sees. Ecclesiastical life in
Normandy was vigorous and well-developed; previous to the
eleventh century the rural parishes were almost as numerous as
they are to-day. Thus Normandy for nearly a century and a half
was at once a sort of promontory of the Christian world in face
of Scandinavia and at the same time a coign of Scandinavia
thrust into the Christian world. Henceforth those Danes and
Scandinavians who under the name of Normans formed a part of
Christendom, never called pagan Danes or Scandinavians to their
aid unless threatened in the possession of Normandy; under their
domination the land became a stronghold of Christianity. The
monastery of Fontenelle (q. v.) pursued its religious and
literary activity from the Merovingian period. The "Chronicon
Fontanellense", continued to 1040, is an important source for
the history of the period. The ducal family of Normandy early
determined to have an historiographer whom they sought in
France, one Dudon, dean of the chapter of St. Quentin, who
between 1015-30 wrote in Latin half verse, half prose, a history
of the family according to the traditions and accounts
transmitted to him by Raoul, Count of Ivry grandson of Rollo and
brother of Richard I Alinea. Duke Robert the Devil (1027-35) was
already powerful enough to interfere efficaciously in the
struggles of Henry I of France against his own brother and the
Counts of Champagne and Flanders. In gratitude the king bestowed
on Robert the Devil, Pontoise, Chaumont en Vexin, and the whole
of French Vexin. It was under Robert the Devil that the ducal
family of Normandy first cast covetous glances towards England.
He sent an embassy to Canute the Great, King of England, in
order that the sons of Ethelred, Alfred and Edward, might
recover their patrimony. The petition having been denied he made
ready a naval expedition against England, destroyed by a
tempest. He died while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre.
It was reserved for his son William the Bastard, later called
William the Conqueror, to make England a Norman colony by the
expedition which resulted in the victory of Hastings or Senlac
(1066). It seemed, then, that in the second half of the eleventh
century a sort of Norman imperialism was to arise in England,
but the testament of William the Conqueror which left Normandy
to Robert Courte-Heuse and England to William Rufus, marked the
separation of the two countries. Each of the brothers sought to
despoil the other; the long strife which Robert waged, first
against William Rufus, afterwards against his third brother
Henry I Beauclerc, terminated in 1106 with the battle of
Tinchebray, after which he was taken prisoner and brought to
Cardiff. Thenceforth Normandy was the possession of William I,
King of England, and while forty years previous England seemed
about to become a Norman country, it was Normandy which became
an English country; history no longer speaks of the ducal family
of Normandy but of the royal family of England. Later Henry I,
denounced to the Council of Reims by Louis VI of France,
explained to Callistus II in tragic terms the condition in which
he had found Normandy. "The duchy", said he, "was the prey of
brigands. Priests and other servants of God were no longer
honoured, and paganism had almost been restored, in Normandy.
The monasteries which our ancestors had founded for the repose
of their souls were destroyed, and the religious obliged to
disperse, being unable to sustain themselves. The churches were
given up to pillage, most of them reduced to ashes, while the
priests were in hiding. Their parishioners were slaying one
another." There, may have been some truth in this description of
Henry I; however, it is well to bear in mind that the Norman
dukes of the eleventh century, while they had prepared and
realized these astounding political changes, had also developed
in Normandy, with the help of the Church, a brilliant literary
and artistic movement.
The Abbey of Bec was for some time, under the direction of
Lanfranc and St. Anselm, the foremost school of northern France.
Two Norman monasteries produced historical works of great
importance; the "Historia Normannorum" written between 1070-87
by Guillaume Calculus at the monastery of Jumièges; the
"Historia Ecclesiastica" of Ordericus Vitalis, which begins with
the birth of Christ and ends in 1141, written at the monastery
of St. Evroult. The secular clergy of Normandy emulated the
monks; in a sort of academy founded in the second half of the
eleventh century by two bishops of Lisieux, Hugues of Eu and
Gilbert Maminot, not only theological but also scientific and
literary questions were discussed. The Norman court was a kind
of Academy and an active centre of literary production. The
chaplain of Duchess Matilda, Gin de Ponthieu, Bishop of Amiens,
composed in 1067 a Latin poem on the battle of Hastings; the
chaplain of William the Conqueror, William of Poitiers, wrote
the "Gesta" of his master and an extant account of the First
Crusade is due to another Norman, Raoul de Caen, an eyewitness.
At the same time the Norman dukes of the eleventh century
restored the buildings, destroyed by the invasions of their
barbarian ancestors, and a whole Romance school of architecture
developed in Normandy, extending to Chartres, Picardy, Brittany,
and even to England. Caen was the centre of this school; and
monuments like the Abbaye aux Hommes and the Abbaye aux Dames,
built at Caen by William and Matilda, mark an epoch in the
history of Norman art.
In the course of the twelfth century the political destinies of
Normandy were very uncertain. Henry I of England, master of
Normandy from 1106-35, preferred to live at Caen rather than in
England. His rule in Normandy was at first disturbed by the
partisans of Guillaume Cliton, son of Robert Courte-Heuse, and
later by the plot concocted against him by his own daughter
Matilda, widow of Emperor Henry V, who had taken as her second
husband Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou. When Henry I died
in 1135 his body was brought to England; his death without male
heirs left Normandy a prey to anarchy. For this region was
immediately disputed between Henry Plantagenet, grandson of
Henry I through his mother Matilda, and Thibaut of Champagne,
grandson of William the Conqueror through his mother Adèle.
After nine years of strife Thibaut withdrew in favour of his
brother Stephen who in 1135 had been crowned King of England.
But the victories of Geoffrey Plantagenet in Normandy assured
(1144) the rule of Henry Plantagenet over that land, which being
thenceforth subject to Angevin rule, seemed destined to have no
further connexion with England. Suddenly Henry Plantagenet, who
in 1152 had married Eleanor (Aliénor) of Aquitaine, divorced
from Louis VII of France, determined to assert his rights over
England itself. The naval expedition which he conducted in 1153
led Stephen to recognize him as his heir, and as Stephen died at
the end of that same year Henry Plantagenet reigned over all the
Anglo-Norman possessions, his territorial power being greater
than that of the kings of France. A long series of wars followed
between the Capetians and Plantagenets, interrupted by truces.
Louis VII wisely favoured everything which paralyzed the power
of Plantagenet, and supported all his enemies. Thomas à Becket
and the other exiles who had protested against the despotism
which Henry exercised against the Church, found refuge and help
at the court of France; and the sons of Henry in their
successive revolts against their father in Normandy, were
supported first by Louis VII and then by Philip Augustus.
The prestige of the Capetian kings grew in Normandy when Richard
Coeur de Lion succeeded Henry II in 1189. Philip Augustus
profited by the enmity between Richard and his brother John
Lackland to gradually establish French domination in Normandy. A
war between Richard and Philip Augustus resulted in the treaty
of Issoudun (1195) by which Philip Augustus acquired for the
French crown Norman Vexin and the castellanies of Nonancourt,
Ivry, Pacy, Vernon, and Gaillon. A second war between John
Lackland, King of England in 1199 and Philip Augustus, was
terminated by the treaty of Goulet (1200), by which John
Lackland recovered Norman Vexin, but recognized the French
king's possession of the territory of Evreux and declared
himself the "liege man" of Philip Augustus. Also when in 1202
John Lackland, having abducted Isabella of Angoulême, refused to
appear before Philip Augustus, the court of peers declared John
a felon, under which sentence he no longer had the right to hold
any fief of the crown. Philip II Augustus sanctioned the
judgment of the court of peers by invading Normandy which in
1204 became a French possession. The twelfth century in Normandy
was marked by the production of important works, chief of which
was the "Roman de Rou" of Robert or rather Richard Wace
(1100-75), a canon of Bayeux. In this, which consists of nearly
17,000 lines and was continued by Benoît de Sainte-More, Wace
relates the history of the dukes of Normandy down to the battle
of Tinchebray. Mention must also be made of the great French
poem which the Norman Ambroise wrote somewhat prior to 1196 on
the Jerusalem pilgrimage of Richard Coeur de Lion. As early as
the twelfth century Normandy was an important commercial centre.
Guillaume de Neubrig wrote that Rouen was one of the most
celebrated cities of Europe and that the Seine brought thither
the commercial products of many countries. The "Etablissements
de Rouen" in which was drawn up the "custom" adopted by Rouen,
were copied not only by the other Norman towns but by the cities
with which Rouen maintained constant commercial intercourse, e.
g. Angoulême, Bayonne, Cognac, St. Jean d'Angély, Niort,
Poitiers, La Rochelle, Saintes, and Tours. The ghilde of Rouen,
a powerful commercial association, possessed in England from the
time of Edward the Confessor the port of Dunegate, now
Dungeness, near London, and its merchandise entered London free.
Once in the power of the Capetians, Normandy became an important
strategical point in the struggle against the English, masters
of Poitou and Guyenne in the south of France. Norman sailors
were enrolled by Philip VI of France for a naval campaign
against England in 1340 which resulted in the defeat of Ecluse.
Under John II the Good, the States of Normandy, angered by the
ravages committed by Edward III of England on his landing in the
province voted (1348-50) subsidies for the conquest of England.
The Valois dynasty was in great danger when Charles the Bad,
King of Navarre, who possessed important lands in Normandy,
succeeded in 1356 in detaching from John II of France a number
of Norman barons. John II appraising the danger came suddenly to
Rouen, put several barons to death, and took Charles the Bad
prisoner. Shortly afterwards Normandy was one of the provinces
of France most faithful to the Dauphin Charles, the future
Charles V, and the hope the English entertained in 1359 of
seeing Normandy ceded to them by the Preliminaries of London was
not ratified by the treaty of Brétigny (1360); Normandy remained
French. The victories of Charles V consolidated the prestige of
the Valois in this province. In 1386 Normandy furnished 1387
vessels for an expedition against England never executed. In
1418 the campaign of Henry V in Normandy was for a long time
paralyzed by the resistance of Rouen, which finally capitulated
in 1419, and in 1420 all Normandy became again almost English.
The Duke of Clarence, brother of Henry V of England, was made
lieutenant-general in the province. Henry VI and the Duke of
Bedford founded a university at Caen which had faculties of
canon and civil law, to which Charles VII in 1450 added those of
theology, medicine, and arts. This last attempt at English
domination in Normandy was marked by the execution at Rouen of
Blessed Joan of Arc. English rule, however, was undermined by
incessant conspiracies, especially on the part of the people of
Rouen, and by revolts in 1435-36. The revolt of Val de Vire is
famous and was the origin of an entire ballad literature, called
"Vaux de Vire", in which the poet Oliver Basselin excelled.
These songs, which later became bacchic or amorous in character,
and which subsequently developed into the popular drama known as
"Vaudeville", were in the beginning chiefly of an historical
nature recounting the invasion of Normandy by the English.
Profiting by the public opinion of which the "Vaux de Vire" gave
evidence, the Constable de Richemont opposed the English on
Norman territory. His long and arduous efforts in 1449-50 made
Normandy once more a French province. Thenceforth the possession
of Normandy by France was considered so essential to the
security of the kingdom that Charles the Bold, for a time
victorious over Louis XI, in order to weaken the latter, exacted
in 1465 that Normandy should be held by Duke Charles de Berry,
the king's brother and leader of those in revolt against him;
two years later Louis XI took Normandy from his brother and
caused the States General of Tours to proclaim in 1468 that
Normandy could for no reason whatever be dismembered from the
domain of the crown. The ducal ring was broken in the presence
of the great judicial court called the Echiquier (Exchequer) and
the title of Duke of Normandy was never to be borne again except
by Louis XVII, the son of Louis XVI.
The Norman school of architecture from the thirteenth to the
fifteenth century produced superb Gothic edifices chiefly
characterized by the height of their spires and bell-towers.
Throughout the Middle Ages Normandy, greatly influenced by St.
Bernard and the Cistercians was distinguished for its veneration
of the Blessed Virgin. It was under her protection that William
the Conqueror placed his expedition to England. One of the most
ancient mural paintings in France is in the chapel of the
Hospice St. Julien at Petit-Quevilly, formerly the manor chapel
of one of the early dukes of Normandy, portraying the
Annunciation, the Birth of Christ, and the Blessed Virgin
suckling the Infant Jesus during the flight into Egypt. As early
as the twelfth century Robert or rather Richard Wace wrote the
history of Mary and that of the establishment of the feast of
the Immaculate Conception. The Norman students at Paris placed
themselves under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception
which thus became the "feast of the Normans"; this appellation
does not seem to date beyond the thirteenth century. During the
modern period the Normans have been distinguished for their
commercial expeditions by sea and their voyages of discovery. As
early as 1366 the Normans had established markets on the coast
of Africa and it was from Caux that Jean de Béthencourt set out
in 1402 for the conquest of the Canaries. He opened up to Vasco
da Gama the route to the Cape of Good Hope and to Christopher
Columbus that to America. Two of his chaplains, Pierre Bontier
and Jean le Verrier, gave an account of his expedition in a
manuscript known as "Le Canarien", edited in 1874. Jean Ango,
born at Dieppe about the end of the fifteenth century, acquired
as a ship-owner a fortune exceeding that of many princes of his
time. The Portuguese having in time of peace, seized (1530) a
ship which belonged to him, he sent a flotilla to blockade
Lisbon and ravage the Portuguese coast. The ambassador sent by
the King of Portugal to Francis I to negotiate the matter, was
referred to the citizen of Dieppe. Ango was powerful enough to
assist the armaments of Francis I against England. He died in
1551.
Jean Parmentier (1494-1543), another navigator and a native of
Dieppe, was, it is held, the first Frenchman to take ships to
Brazil; to him is also ascribed the honour of having discovered
Sumatra in 1529. Poet as well as sailor, he wrote in verse
(1536) a "Description Nouvelle des Merveilles de ce monde". The
foundation by Francis I in 1517 of the "French City" which
afterwards became Havre de Grace, shows the importance which
French royalty attached to the Norman coast. Normandy's maritime
commerce was much developed by Henry II and Catherine de
Medicis. They granted to the port of Rouen a sort of monopoly
for the importation of spices and drugs arriving by way of the
Atlantic, and when they came to Rouen in 1550 the merchants of
that town contrived to give to the nearby wood the appearance of
the country of Brazil "with three hundred naked men, equipped
like savages of America, whence comes the wood of Brazil". Among
these three hundred men were fifty real savages, and there also
figured in this exhibition "several monkeys and squirrel monkeys
which the merchants of Rouen had brought from Brazil." The
description of the festivities, which bore witness to active
commercial intercourse between Normandy and America, was
published together with numerous figures. After the Reformation
religious wars interrupted the maritime activity of the Normans
for a time. Rouen took sides with the League, Caen with Henry
IV, but with the restoration of peace the maritime expeditions
recommenced. Normans founded Quebec in 1608, opened markets in
Brazil in 1612, visited the Sonda Islands in 1617, and colonized
Guadeloupe in 1635. The French population of Canada is to a
large extent of Norman origin. During the French Revolution
Normandy was one of the centres of the federalist movement known
as the Girondin. Caen and Evreux were important centres for the
Gironde; Buzot, who led the movement, was a Norman, and it was
from Caen that Charlotte Corday set out to slay the "montagnard"
Marat. The royalist movement of "la Chouannerie" had also one of
its centres in Normandy.
DUCHESNE, Historioe Normannorum scriptores antiqui (Paris,
1619); LIQUET, Histoire de la Normandie jusqu'à la conquête de
l'Angleterre (Paris, 1855); LABUTTE, Hist. des ducs de Normandie
jusqu'à la mort de Guillaume le Conquérant (Paris, 1866); WAITZ,
Ueber die Quellen zur Gesch, der Begründung der normannischen
Herrscher in Frankreich in Göttingische Gelehrte Anzeigen
(1866); BÖHMER, Kirche und Staat in England und in der Normandie
im XI und XII. Jahrhundert (Leipzig, 1900); SARRAZIN, Jeanne
d'Arc et la Normandie au XV ^e. siècle (Rouen, 1896); LEGRELLE,
La Normandie sous la monarchie absolue (Rouen, 1903); DE FÉLICE,
La Basse Normandie, étude de géographie régionale (Paris, 1907);
SION, Les paysans de la Normandie Orientale: pays de Caux
(Paris, 1909); SOREL, Pages normandes (Paris, 1907); PRENTOUT,
La Normandie (Paris, 1910); COCHET, Normandie monumentale et
pittoresque (Rouen, 1894); BLACK, Normandy and Picardy, their
relics, castles, churches, and footprints of William the
Conqueror (London, 1904); MILTOUN, Rambles in Normandy (London,
1905); FREEMAN. Hist. of the Norman Conquest of England (Oxford,
1870-76); PALGRAVE, Normandy and England (2 vols., 1851-57);
LAPPENBERG, Anglo-Norman Kings; NORGATE, England under the
Angevin Kings (Oxford, 1887); KEARY, The Vikings in Western
Christendom A. D. 789 to A. D. 888 (London, 1891).
GEORGES GOYAU.
Sylvester Norris
Sylvester Norris
( Alias SMITH, NEWTON).
Controversial writer and English missionary priest; b. 1570 or
1572 in Somersetshire; d. 16 March, 1630. After receiving minor
orders at Reims in 1590, he went to the English College, Rome,
where he completed his studies and was ordained priest. In May,
1596, he was sent on the English mission, and his energetic
character is revealed by the fact that he was one of the
appellant clergy in 1600. In the prosecutions following upon the
Gunpowder Plot, he was committed to Bridewell Gaol. From his
prison he addressed a letter to the Earl of Salisbury, dated 1
Dee., 1605, in which he protests his innocence, and in proof of
his loyalty promises to repair to Rome, and labor that the pope
shall bind all the Catholics of England to be just, true, and
loyal subjects, and that hostages shall be sent "for the
afferminge of those things". He was thereupon banished along
with forty-six other priests (1606), went to Rome, and entered
the Society of Jesus. He was for some time employed in the
Jesuit colleges on the Continent, but in 1611 returned to the
English mission, and in 1621 was made superior of the Hampshire
district, where he died.
He wrote: "An Antidote, or Treatise of Thirty Controversies;
With a large Discourse of the Church" (1622); "An Appendix to
the Antidote" (1621); "The Pseudo-Scripturist" (1623); "A true
report of the Private Colloquy between M. Smith, alias Norrice,
and M. Walker" (1624); "The Christian Vow"; "Discourse proving
that a man who believeth in the Trinity, the Incarnation, etc.,
and yet believeth not all other inferior Articles, cannot be
saved" (1625).
SOMMERVOGEL. Bibl. de la C. de J., V (1808 09); FOLEY, Records
of the English Province, S.J., VI, 184; III, 301; OLIVER,
Collections towards Illustrating the Biography of S.J., s. v.,
GILLOW, Bibl. Dict. Eng. Cath., V, s. v.
JAMES BRIDGE
Northampton
Northampton
(NORTANTONIENSIS)
Diocese in England, comprises the Counties of Northampton,
Bedford, Buckingham, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Norfolk, and
Suffolk, mainly composed of agricultural districts and fenlands,
where Catholics are comparatively few (see, in article ENGLAND,
Map of the Ecclesiastical Province of Westminster). The number
of secular priests is 70, of regular 18, of chapels and
stations, 73, and of Catholics, 13,308 (1910). Among the more
important religious orders are the Benedictines, the
Franciscans, the Carmelites, and the Jesuits. Of convents the
most notable are those of the Benedictines at East Bergholt, the
Sisters of Notre Dame at Northampton and Norwich, the Sisters of
Jesus and Mary at Ipswich, the Poor Sisters of Nazareth at
Northampton, and the Dames Bernardines at Slough, who at their
own expense built a fine church for that parish. The principal
towns are Norwich, Ipswich, and Cambridge, the university town
where, according to tradition St. Simon Stock, of the Order of
Carmel, received the brown scapular from Our Lady. The Decorated
Gothic Catholic church at Cambridge, one of the most beautiful
in the kingdom (consecrated in 1890), is dedicated to Our Lady
and the English Martyrs. It is the gift of Mrs. Lyne Stephens of
Lynford Hall, Norfolk. Norwich possesses one of the grandest
Catholic churches in England, built by the munificence of the
present Duke of Norfolk in the Transitional Norman style, after
the designs of Sir Gilbert Scott, and completed in 1910. The
cathedral at Northampton is a commodious but unpretentious
building designed by the younger Pugin. The first Bishop of
Northampton, William Wareing, had been Vicar Apostolic of the
Eastern District before the restoration of the Catholic
hierarchy; he resigned the see in 1858, and died in 1865. His
successor, Francis Kerril Amherst, was consecrated 4 July, 1858,
and resigned in 1879, the see being occupied the following year
by Arthur Riddell, who d.15 Sept., 1907. The present Bishop of
Northampton (1910), Frederick William Keating, b. at Birmingham,
13 June, 1859, was consecrated 25 Feb., 1908.
Northampton was the scene of the last stand made by St. Thomas
of Canterbury against the arbitrary conduct of Henry II. Bury
St. Edmund's, anciently so renowned as the place where the body
of St. Edmund, King and Martyr, was enshrined and venerated as
well as for its Benedictine abbey, has become familiar to the
modern reader mainly through Carlyle's "Past and Present," in
the pages of which Abbot Samson (1135-1211), the hero of
Jocelin's Chronicle, occupies the central position. The Isle of
Ely and St. Etheldreda are famous in English ecclesiastical
history. Canute, Kine of England, was accustomed to row or skate
across the fens each year to be present on the Feast of the
Purification at the Mass in the Abbey Church of Ely, and Thomas
Eliensis ascribes to him the well-known lines beginning,
"Sweetly sang the monks of Ely". At Walsingham, also in this
diocese, only ruins are now left of a shrine which, in the
Middle Ages, was second only to the Holy House of Loreto, of
which it was a copy. Many great names of the Reformation period
are connected with the district covered by the Diocese of
Northampton. Catherine of Aragon died at Kimbolton and was
buried at Peterborough, where the short inscription, "Queen
Catherine", upon a stone slab marks her resting-place. From
Framlingham Castle, the ruins of which are still considerable,
Queen Mary Tudor set out, on the death of Edward VI, to contest
with Lady Jane Grey her right to the throne. At Ipswich, the
birthplace of Cardinal Wolsey, is still to be seen the gateway
of the College built by him. At Fotheringay, Mary Queen of Scots
was beheaded (1587), and at Wisbech Castle, where so many
missionary priests, during penal times, were imprisoned, William
Watson, the last but one of the Marian bishops, died, a prisoner
for the Faith (1584). Sir Henry Bedingfeld, the faithful
follower of Queen Mary and the gentle "Jailor of the Princess
Elizabeth", is associated with this diocese through Oxburgh
Hall, his mansion still occupied by another Sir Henry
Bedingfeld, his direct descendant. The Pastons of Paston are
memorable in connection with the celebrated " Paston Letters".
Many of the priests who suffered death under the penal laws
belonged to the districts now included in the Diocese of
Northampton, in particular, Henry Heath, born, 1600, at
Peterborough; Venerable Henry Walpole, S.J., (d. 1595), a native
of Norfolk, and Venerable Robert Southwell S.J., (1560-95), the
Catholic poet, also born in Norfolk. In more recent times Bishop
Milner was connected with the preservation of the Faith in this
part of England. Alban Butler, the hagiographer, was born in
North- amptonshire and was resident priest at Norwich from
1754-56. Dr. Husenbeth resided for some years at Cossey, where
he is buried (see HUSENBETH, FREDERICK CHARLES). Father Ignatius
Spencer, the Passionist, son of Earl Spencer, and formerly
Rector of Brington, was received into the Catholic Church at
Northampton, and Faber, the Oratorian, held the Anglican living
of Elton, Huntingdonshire, before his conversion.
The Catholic Directory (London); RIDDELL, General Statistics,
MS.; BEDE:, Hist. Eccl.; Historia Eliensis; WATERTON, Pietas
Mariana.
JOHN FREELAND
North Carolina
North Carolina
One of the original thirteen States of the United States, is
situated between 33° 53' and 36° 33' N. lat. and 75° 25' and 84°
30' W. long. It is bounded on the north by Virginia, east and
south-east by the Atlantic Ocean, south by South Carolina and
Georgia, and west and north-west by Tennessee. Its extreme
length from east to west is 503 miles, with an extreme breadth
of 187 miles, and an average breadth of about 100 miles. Its
area is 52,250 square miles, of which 3670 is water. Originally
it included the present State of Tennessee, ceded to the United
States in 1790. In 1784-8 the people of that section made an
unsuccessful effort to set up an independent state named
Franklin, with John Sevier as governor. It is divided into
ninety-eight counties and has (1910) ten Congressional
districts, with a population of 2,206,287. The capital is
Raleigh, situated nearly in the geographical centre of the
state; the principal cities are Wilmington, Charlotte,
Asheville, Greensboro and Winston.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
North Carolina has a remarkable variety of topography, soil,
climate and production and falls naturally into three divisions.
The eastern or Tidewater section begins at the ocean and extends
north-westwardly to the foot of the hills; the land is level
with sluggish streams and many marshes and swamps, including
part of the great Dismal Swamp. It is the home of the long leaf
pine, with its products of pitch, tar, and turpentine, long a
source of wealth. The principal productions are cotton, corn,
and rice; while "truck gardening" has recently grown into an
important industry. The fisheries are also valuable. The central
or Piedmont section, comprising nearly half the state and
extending westward to the eastern foot of the Blue Ridge, is
more or less hilly, but the rich intervening valleys produce
practically all the general crops, including cotton and tobacco,
with fruits of all kinds. The soil, though not naturally rich,
is capable of a high degree of cultivation. The westward
section, which runs to the Tennessee line, is mostly
mountainous, with rich valleys and sheltered coves. Its
principal productions are those of the central section, modified
somewhat by its greater elevation. It contains some lofty peaks,
Mount Mitchell being the highest peak east of the Rocky
Mountains. The state is well watered, having numerous rivers,
which, though not generally navigable, in their rapid descent
furnish enormous water-power; much of which has been recently
developed. They may be divided into three classes, those flowing
indirectly into the Mississippi, those flowing into the Great
Pedee and the Santee, and those flowing into the Atlantic. The
coast line, nearly four hundred miles long, includes Capes Fear,
Lookout, and Hatteras; and, at varying distances from the ocean,
run a series of sounds, chief of which are Currituck, Albemarle,
and Pamlico. There are good harbours at Edenton, New Bern,
Washington, Beaufort, and Wilmington, including Southport. The
climate is generally equable, and North Carolina produces nearly
all the crops grown in the United States with the exception of
sub-tropical cane and fruits. Four of the wine grapes, the
Catawba, Isabella, Lincoln, and Scuppernong, originated here. It
has also large areas of valuable timber of great variety. With a
few rare exceptions all the known minerals are found in the
state. In 1905, taking the fourteen leading industries,
including about 90 per cent of the total, there were 3272
manufacturing establishments, with a capital of $141,639,000,
producing yearly products of the value of $142,520,776. The
principal manufactured product was cotton, in which North
Carolina ranked third among all the States, and tobacco, in
which she ranked second.
RAILROADS AND BANKS
There are in operation within the State 4387 miles of railroads,
besides 911 miles of sidings, with a total valuation of
$86,347,553, but capitalized for a much larger amount. The state
has 321 banks organized under the state law; with an aggregate
capital stock of $7,692,767; and 69 national banks with a
capital of $6,760,000. The entire recognized state debt is
$6,880,950, the greater part of which could be paid by the sale
of certain railroad stock held by the state.
HISTORY
North Carolina was originally inhabited by various tribes of
Indians, the three principal ones being the Tuscaroras in the
east, the Catawbas in the centre, and the Cherokees in the west.
A small body of Cherokees is still located in the mountain
section. In 1584 Queen Elizabeth granted to Sir Walter Raleigh
the right to discover and hold any lands not inhabited by
Christian people. This charter constitutes the first step in the
work of English colonization in America. Five voyages were made
under it, but without success in establishing a permanent
settlement. In 1663 Charles II granted to Sir George Carteret
and seven others a stretch of land on the Atlantic coast, lying
between Virginia and Florida, and running west to the South
Seas. The grantees were created "absolute lords proprietors" of
the province of Carolina, with full powers to make and execute
such laws as they deemed proper. This grant was enlarged in 1665
both as to territory and jurisdiction, and in 1669 the lords
proprietors promulgated the "Fundamental Constitutions of
Carolina", framed by John Locke, the philosopher, but they
proved too theoretical for practical operation. The lords
proprietors made every effort to colonize their province, which
already contained one or two small settlements and for which
they appointed governors at various times, frequently with local
councils. Albemarle, the name originally given to what now
constitutes North Carolina, was augmented by settlements from
Virginia, New England, and Bermuda. In 1674 the population was
about four thousand. In 1729, Carolina became a royal province,
the king having purchased from the proprietors seven-eighths of
their domain. Carteret, subsequently Earl Granville, surrendered
his right of jurisdiction, but retained in severalty his share
of the land. It gained considerable accessions in population by
a colony of Swiss at New Bern, of Scotch Highlanders on Cape
Fear; of Moravians at Salem, and of Scotch-Irish and
Pennsylvania Dutch, who settled in different parts of the state.
For many years, however, there has been very little immigration
and the population is now essentially homogeneous.
The people of North Carolina were among the earliest and most
active promoters of the Revolution. The Stamp Tax was bietterly
resentedy; a provincial congress, held at New Bern, elected
delegates to the first Continental Congress in September, 1774,
and joined in the declaration of Colonial rights. As early as 20
May, 1775, a committee of citizens met in Charlotte and issued
the "Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence", formally
renouncing allegiance tot he British Crown. In December, 1776,
the provincial congress at Halifax adopted a State constitution
which immediately went into effect, with Richard Caswell as
governor. The delegates from this state signed the Declaration
of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. In 1786 the
General Assembly elected delegates to the Federal Constitutional
Convention and its delegates present signed the Constitution;
but the General Assembly did not ratify it until 21 November,
1789, after the Federal Government had been organized and gone
into operation. During the Revolution the state furnished the
Continental army with 22,910 men. Important battles were fought
at Guilford Court House (between Green and Cornwallis, 15 March,
1781), Alamance, Moore's Creek, Ramsour's Mill, and King's
Mountain on the state line. There was a predominant Union
sentiment in North Carolina in the early part of 1861; and at an
election held 28 February, the people voted against calling a
convention for the purpose of secession; but after the firing on
Fort Sumter and the actual beginning of the war, a convention,
called by the Legislature without submission to the people, met
on 20 May, 1861, passed an ordinance of secession, and ratified
the Confederate Constitution. Fort Fisher was the only important
battle fought in the state. The State sent 125,000 soldiers into
the Civil War; the largest number sent by any southern state. In
1865 a provisional government was organized by President
Johnson, and later the state came under the Reconstruction Act
passed by Congress, 2 March, 1867. On 11 July, 1868, the state
government was restored by proclamation of the president.
The Constitution of 1776 had some remarkable provisions. It
allowed free negroes to vote because they were "freemen", all
slaves, of course, being disfranchised because in law they were
considered chattels. Any freeman could vote for the members of
the House of Commons; but must own fifty acres of land to vote
for a senator, who must himself own at least three hundred
acres, and a member at least one hundred acres. The governor
must own a freehold of five thousand dollars in value. The
borough towns of Edenton, New Bern, Wilmington, Salisbury,
Hillsboro, and Halifax were each allowed a separate member in
the House of Commons apart from the counties. It declared: That
all men have a natural and inalienable right to worship Almighty
God according to the dictates of their own conscience"; but that
no person who denied the truth of the Protestant religion should
hold any civil office of trust or profit. No clergyman or
preacher of any denomination should be a member of eityher house
of the Legislature while continuing in the exercise of his
pastoral functions. All of these provisions except the
delclaration of religious freedom, have since been abandoned.
The Convention of 1835 adopted many amendments, ratified in
1836; among others, all persons of negro blood to the fourth
generation were disfranchised; and the Protestant qualification
for office omitted. The Constitution of 1868 restored negro
suffrage, but in 1900 amendments, adopted by the Legislature and
ratified by the people, provided that every qualified voter
should have paid his poll tax and be able to read and write any
section of the Constitution; fut that any person entitled to
vote on or prior to 1 January, 1867, or his lineal descendant,
might register on a permanent roll until 1 November, 1908. This
is called the "Grandfather Clause".
EDUCATION
In early times there were no schools; private teachers
furnishing the only means of education. beginning about 1760,
several private classical schools were established in different
parts of the state, the most prominent being Queen's College at
Charlotte, subsequently called Liberty Hall. The State
University was opened for students in February, 1795; but want
of means and a scattered population prevented any public school
system until long after the Revolution. The Civil War seriously
interfered with all forms of education; but the entire
educational system is now in a high state of efficiency. The
following are under State control, but receive aid from tuition
fees and donations: the State University, situated in Chapel
Hill, endowment, $250,000; total income, $160,000; annual State
appropriation, $75,000; faculty, 101; students, 821; the North
Carolina State Normal and Industrial College for women at
Greensboro, founded in 1891, buildings, 13; annual State
appropriation, $37,000; annual Federal appropriation, $49,450;
faculty, 63; students, 613; North Carolina College of
Agricultural and Mechanic Arts at West Raleigh, opened in 1889,
annual State appropriation, $36,000; annual Federal
appropriation, $49,450; faculty, 42; students, 446; the
Agricultural and Mechanical College for the coloured race at
Greensboro, annual State appropriation, $10,000; annual Federal
appropriation, $11,550; faculty, 14; students, 173. A training
school for white teachers has just been established at
Greenville. There are three State Normal Schools for the
coloured race. The official reports of public schools for the
year 1908-0 show a total school population of whites, 490,710;
coloured, 236,855; schoolhouses, 7670; white teachers, 8129;
coloured teachers, 2828; total available fund, $3,419,103. There
are a large nubmer of flourishing denominational colleges both
for men and women, several of which belong to the coloured race.
Among the State institutions are: a large central penitentiary,
three hospitals for insane, three schools for deaf, dumb, and
blind, and a tuberculosis sanitarium.
RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS
Under the lords proprietors, there was much religious
discrimination and even persecution; but there was little under
the Crown except as to holding office and celebrating the rite
of matrimony. The disqualification for office involved in
denying the truth of the Protestant religion remained in the
Constitution until the Convention of 1835. In 1833 William
Gaston, a Catholic of great ability and noble character, was
elected associate justice of the Supreme Court for life.
Regarding the religious disqualification as legally and morally
invalid, he promptly took his seat without opposition. While
still remaining on the bench, he was elected a delegate to the
Constitutional Convention of 1835, and attended its session. His
great speech against any religious discrimination was
conclusive, and the obnoxious clause was stricken out of the
Constitution. Since then there has been no legal discrimination
against Catholics. All persons denying the existence of Almighty
God have been disqualified from holding office under every
constitution. The preamble to the present Constitution
recognizes the dependence of the people upon Almighty God, and
their gratitude to Him for the existence of their civil,
political and religious liberties. The Legislature is opened
with prayer. The law requires the observance of Sunday, and
punishes any disturbance of religious congregations. The
following are legal holidays: 1 January; 19 January (Lee's
birthday); 22 February; 12 April (anniversary of Halifax
Resolution); 10 May (Confederate Decoration Day); 20 May
(anniversary Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence); 4 July;
1st Monday in September (Labour Day); general election day in
November; Thanksgiving; and Christmas. Neither Sundays nor
holidays are regarded as diei non except in certain limited
cases. Religious bodies may become incorporated either under the
general law or by special act. If not specifically incorporated
they are regarded as quasi corporations, and may exercise many
corporate powers. The Protestant Episcopal bishop has been
created a corporation sole by special act of the Legislature.
All real and personal property used exclusively for religious,
charitable, or educational purposes, as also property whose
income is so used, is exempt from taxation. Ministers of the
Gospel are exempt from jury duty and their private libraries
from taxation. The only privileged communications recognized are
those between lawyers and their clients, and physicians and
their patients. There is no statute allowing this exemption to
priests, and therefore they stand as at common law; but there is
no recorded instance in which they have ever been asked to
reveal the secrets of the confessional.
MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE
Originally in this colony legally valid marriages could be
solemnized only by ministers of the Church of England, of whom
there were few, nearly all in the eastern part of the colony. In
1715 this power was conferred upon the governor; in 1741 upon
justices of the peace; in 1766 upon ministers of the
Presbylterian Church, and finally in 1778 upon the ministers of
all denominations. The ceremony can now be performed by an
ordained minister of any religious denomination or a justice of
the peace; and the peculiar marriage custom of the Friends is
recognized as valid. Males under sixteen and females under
fourteen are legally incapable of marriage, and all marriages of
those related by consanguinity closer than the degree of first
cousin and between whites and negroes or Indians are void. A
marriage license is required, and the Registrar is forbidden by
law to issue licenses for the marriage of any one under eighteen
years of age without written consent of the parent or one
standing in loco parentis. Absolute divorce (a vinculo) may be
granted for the following causes: pre-existing natural and
continued impotence of either party; if they shall have lived
separate and apart continuously for ten years, and have no
children; adultery by the wife, or pregnancy at the time of
marriage unknown to husband and not by him; continued
fornication and adultery by the hiusband. Either party may
remarry, but no alimony is allowed. Divorce a mensa et toro may
be granted with alimony for the following causes: if either
party shall abandon his or her family, or turn the other out of
doors, or shall by cruel and barbarous treatment endanger the
life of the other, or shall offer such indignities to the person
of the other as to make his or her life intolerable, or shall
become an habitual drunkard. Upon such a divorce parties cannot
remarry.
Bequests for charitable purposes must be clearly defined, as the
cy-près doctrine is not recognized; and there must be some one
capable of taking the bequest. Whether a bequest for Masses
would be specifically enforced by the courts, has not been
decided; but it is not probable that it would be interfered
with, as the courts have never invoked the doctrine of
Superstitious Uses. Cemeteries are provided and protected by
law. In administering oaths, the party sworn must "lay his hand
upon the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God"; but those having
conscientious scruples may appeal to God with uplifted hand; and
"Quakers, Moravians, Dunkers, and Mennonites" may affirm.
PROHIBITION
For many years prohibition sentiment has been growing until it
culminated, in 1908, in the passage by the General Assembly of
an act making it unlawful to make or sell any spiritous, vinous,
fermented or malt liquors within the state, except for
sacramental purposes, or by a registered pharmacist on a
physician's prescription. Native cider may be sold without
restriction; and native wines at the place of manufacture in
sealed or crated packages containing not less than two and a
half gallons each, which must not be opened on the premises.
Religious Statistics (From the Census of Religious Bodies, 1906)
Denominations No of Organizations No. of Members No. of Church Edifices
Value of Church Prop.
All denominations
Baptist, white
Baptist, col.
Christian
Congregationalists
Disciples
Friends
Lutheran
Methodist, white
Methodist, col.
Presbyter. and Refor.
Protestant Episcopal
Roman Catholic
All other 8592
2397
1358
192
54
130
63
179
2141
954
655
258
31
180 824,385
235,540
165,503 15,909
2,699
13,637
6,752
17,740
191,760 85,522
60,555
13,890
3,981
10,897 8188
2305
1192
188
47
128
63
173
2065
925
656
261
35
150 $14,053,505
3,056,889
1,266,227
194,315
42,361
151,605
90,525
445,525
3,523,354
1,366,238
2,247,923
987,925
375,360
305,258
In the above, the Catholic population was reduced by deducting
15 per cent for children under nine years of age.
VICARIATE APOSTOLIC OF NORTH CAROLINA
Canonically established and separated from the Diocese of
Charleston, South Carolina by Bull, 3 March, 1868, with James
(now Cardinal) Gibbons as first vicar. It comprised the entire
state until 1910, when eight counties were attached to Belmont
Abbey. The latest statistics, for the entire state, show secular
priests, 17; religious, 16; churches, 15; missions, 34;
stations, 47; chapels, 5; Catholics, 5870. The Apostolate
Company, a corporation of secular priests at Nazareth, maintains
a boys' orphanage and industrial school, and publishes "Truth",
a monthly periodical. There is a girls' school and sanatorium at
Asheville, and hospitals at Charlotte (Sisters of Mercy) and
Greensboro (Sisters of Charity). There are parochial schools at
Asheville, Charlotte, Salisbury, Durham, Newton Grove, Raleigh,
and Wilmington. The vicariate is subject to the Propaganda, and
its present vicar is the Abbot Ordinary of Belmont.
Belmont Cathedral Abbey
By Bull of Pius X, 8 June, 1900, the Counties of Gaston,
Lincoln, Cleveland, Rutherford, Polk, Burke, McDowell, and
Catawby were cut off from the vicariate to form the diocese of
the Cathedral Abbey at Belmont, canonically erected by Mgr.
Diomede Falconio, Apostolic Delegate in the United States, on 18
October, 1910. The vicariate remains under the administration of
the abbot ordinary at Belmont until a diocese can be formed in
the state. Belmont Abbey, situated in Gaston County, was erected
into an abbey by Papal Brief dated 19 December, 1884, its first
abbot being Rt. Rev. Leo Haid. He was born at Latrobe,
Pennsylvania, 15 July, 1849, ordained priest in 1872, and served
as chaplain and professor in St. Vincent's Abbey until 1885.
Appointed Vicar Apostolic of North Carolina in 1887, he was
consecrated titular Bishop of Messene 1 July, 1888. The abbey
itself has many extra-territorial dependencies, i.e. military
colleges in Savannah, Georgia and Richmond, Virginia, and
parishes in both of these cities, besides various missions in
the state itself; and forms legal corporations in Virginia,
North Carolina, and Georgia. To it also is attached a college
for secular education and a seminary for the secular and regular
clergy. To the abbey proper belong 32 priests, 2 deacons, 6
clerics in minor orders, and 37 lay brothers. At Belmont is also
a college for the higher education of women under the Sisters of
Mercy, with 60 pupils, an orphanage for girls and a preparatory
school for little boys.
Prominent Catholics
Though there are few Catholics in the state, an unusual
proportion have occupied prominent official positions. Thomas
Burke was governor, and William Gaston, M.E. Manly, and R.M.
Douglas were associate justices of the Supreme Court. R.R.
Heath, W.A. Moore and W.S. O'B. Robinson were Superior Court
judges, and R.D. Douglas attorney general. Prominent benefactors
were Dr. D. O'Donaghue, Lawrence Brown, and Raphael Guasterino.
Mrs. Francis C. Tiernan (Christian Reid) is a native of North
Carolina.
SHEA, Hist. of the Catholic Church (New York, 1862); O'CONNELL,
Catholicity in the Carolinas and Georgia (New York, 1879);
Official Catholic Directory (New York, 1910); Pub. of U. S.
Bureau of Census and Education; Ann. Rept. of State Officers
(Raleigh); BANCROFT, Hist. of U.S. (Boston, 1879); LAWSON, Hist.
of Carolina (London, 1714; Raleigh, 1830); BRICKELL, Natural
Hist. of N. C. (Dublin, 1737); WILLIAMSON, Hist. of N. C.
(Philadelphia, 1812); MARTIN, Hist. of N. C. (New Orleans,
1829); WHEELER, Hist. of N. C. (Philadelphia, 1851); HAWKS,
Hist. of N. C. (Fayetteville, N. C., 1857); MOORE, Hist of N. C.
(Raleigh, 1880); FOOTE, Sketches of N. C. (New York, 1846);
REICHEL, Hist. of the Moravians in N. C. (Salem, N. C., 1857);
BERNHEIM, Hist. of the German Settlements in N. C.
(Philadelphia, 1872); CARUTHERS, The Old North State in 1776
(Philadelphia, 1884); IDEM, Life of Rev. David Caldwell
(Greensboro, N. C., 1842); HUNTER, Sketches of Western N. C.
(Raleigh, 1877); VASS, Eastern N. C. (Richmond, Va, 1886);
WHEELER, Reminiscences and Memoirs of N. C. (Columbus, Ohio,
1884); COTTON, Life of Macon (Baltimore, 1840); RUMPLE, Hist. of
Rowan County (Salisbury, N. C., 1881); Schenck, N. C. (Raleigh,
1889); ASHE, Hist. of N. C. (Greensboro, N. C., 1908); BATTLE,
Hist. of the Univ of N. C. (Raleigh, 1907); ASHE, Biog. Hist. of
N. C. (Greensboro, 1905); CLARK, N. C. Regiments 1861-5
(Raleigh, 1901); CONNER, Story of the Old North State
(Philadelphia, 1906); HILL, Young People's Hist of N. C.
(Charlotte, N. C., 1907); HAYWOOD, Gen Tryon (Raleigh, 1903);
JONES, Defense of Revolutionary Hist. of N. C. (Boston and
Raleigh, 1834); Pub of N. C. Hist. Commission (Raleigh,
1900-10); SMITH, Hist of Education in N. C. (Govt. Printing
Office, 1888); TARLETON, Hist. of the Campaign of 1780-1
(London, 1787); Princeton College during the Eighteenth Century
(New York, 1872); DE BOW, Industrial Resources of the South and
West (New Orleans, 1852); POORE, Copnstitutions, Colonial
Charters and Organic Laws of the U. S. II (Govt. Printing
Office, 1878), 1379; Colonial and State Records of N. C. (25
vols., 1886-1906); Public Laws of N. C.; The Code of 1883; The
Revisal of 1905 (published by State, Raleigh); CLARK, The
Supreme Court of N. C. (Green Bag, Oct., Nov., Dec. 1892) There
is also a large mass of valuable historical matter in magazine
articles and published addresses both before and since 1895; see
WEEKS, Bibl. of the Hist. Lit. of N. C. (issued by Library of
Harvard Univ., 1895).
ROBERT M. DOUGLAS
James Spencer Northcote
James Spencer Northcote
Born at Feniton Court, Devonshire, 26 May, 1821; d. at
Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, 3 March, 1907. He was the
second son of George Barons Northcote, a gentleman of an ancient
Devonshire family of Norman descent. Educated first at Ilmington
Grammar School, he won in 1837 a scholarship at Corpus Christi
College, Oxford, where he came under Newman's influence. In 1841
he became B.A., and in the following year married his cousin,
Susannah Spencer Ruscombe Poole. Taking Anglican Orders in 1844
he accepted a curacy at Ilfracombe; but when his wife was
received into the Catholic Church in 1845, he resigned his
office. In 1846 he himself was converted, being received at
Prior Park College, where he continued as a master for some
time. From June, 1852, until September, 1854, he acted as editor
of the "Rambler", and about the same time helped to edit the
well-known "Clifton Tracts". After his wife's death in 1853 he
devoted himself to preparation for the priesthood, first under
Newman at Edgbaston, then at the Collegio Pio, Rome. On 29 July,
1855, he was ordained priest at Stone, where his daughter had
entered the novitiate. He returned to Rome to complete his
ecclesiastical studies, also acquiring the profound erudition in
Christian antiquities which was later to be enshrined in his
great work "Roma Sotterranea". In 1857 he was appointed to the
mission of Stoke-upon-Trent, which he served until 1860, when he
was called to Oscott College as vice- president, and six months
later became president. Under his rule, which lasted for
seventeen years, the college entered on an unprecedented degree
of prosperity, and his influence on education was felt far
outside the walls of Oscott. Failing health caused him to resign
in 1876, and he returned to the mission, first at Stone (1868),
and then at Stoke-upon-Trent (1881), where he spent the rest of
his life revered by all for his learning, his noble character,
and his sanctity. During the last twenty years of his life he
suffered form creeping paralysis, which slowly deprived him of
all bodily motion, though leaving his mind intact. He had been
made a canon of the Diocese of Birmingham in 1861,
canon-theologian in 1862, and provost in 1885. In 1861 the pope
conferred on him the doctorate in divinity. Dr. Northcote's wide
scholarship is witnessed to by many works, chief among which is
"Roma Sotterranea", the great work on the Catacombs, written in
conjunction with William R. Brownlow, afterwards Bishop of
Clifton. This work has been translated into French and German;
and it won for its authors recognition as being among the
greatest living authorities on the subject. Other works were:
"The Fourfold Difficulty of Anglicanism" (Derby, 1846); "A
Pilgrimage to La Salette" (London, 1852); "Roman Catacombs"
(London, 1857); "Mary in the Gospels" (London, 1867);
"Celebrated Sanctuaries of the Madonna" (London, 1868); "A Visit
to the Roman Catacombs" (London, 1877); "Epitaphs of the
Catacombs" (London, 1878).
BARRY, The Lord, my Light (funeral sermon, privately printed,
1907; Memoir of the Very Rev. Canon Northcote in The Oscotian
(July, 1907); Report of the case of Fitzgerald v. Northcote
(London, 1866).
EDWIN BURTON
North Dakota
North Dakota
One of the United States of America, originally included in the
Louisiana Purchase. Little was known of the region prior to the
expedition of Lewis and Clark, who spent the winter of 1804-5
about thirty miles north-west of Bismarck. In 1811 the Astor
expedition encountered a band of Sioux near the boundary of
North and South Dakota on the Missouri. Settlement was long
delayed on account of the numerous Indian wars, and the land was
practically given up to hunters and trappers. In 1849 all that
part of Dakota east of the Missouri and White Earth Rivers was
made part of the Territory of Minnesota, and in 1854 all to the
west of the said rivers was included in the Territory of
Nebraska. Finally, 2 March, 1861, President Buchanan signed the
bill creating the Territory of North Dakota, with Dr. William
Jayne of Springfield, Ill., as first governor; and on 2
November, 1889, the State of North Dakota was formed. North
Dakota is bounded on the north by Saskatchewan and Manitoba, on
the south by South Dakota, on the east by Minnesota (the Red
River dividing), and on the west by Montana. The surface is
chiefly rolling prairie, with an elevation of from eight hundred
to nine hundred feet in the Red River valley, from thirteen
hundred to fifteen hundred feet in the Devil's Lake region and
from two thousand to twenty-eight hundred feet west of Minot.
The chief rivers are the Missouri, Red, Sheyenne, James, Mouse,
and their tributaries. The state forms a rectangle, measuring
approximately two hundred and fourteen miles from north to south
and three hundred and thirty from east to west, and has an area
of 70,795 square miles, of which 650 is water. The population
(1910) was 577,056, an increase of 82.8 per cent, since 1900.
RESOURCES
Agriculture. The number of farms in the state in 1910 was
64,442, number of acres in cultivation over 13 millions. Wheat
is the dominant crop, the Red River Valley being perhaps the
most famous wheat-producing region in the world. Oats, flax, and
barley are also produced in large quantities. The prairies offer
fine ranching ground and the state has 1,315,870 head of live
stock. Her forests aggregate 95,918 acres; there are 135,150
cultivated fruit trees, and 2,381 acres of berries. Besides many
natural groves, very rich in wild small fruit, there are a vast
number of cultivated farm groves, and some fine nurseries, the
largest of which is near Devil's Lake and consists of about 400
acres.
Mining. In the western part of the state, North Dakota has a
coal supply, greater than that of any other state in the Union;
coal is mined at Minot, Burlington, Kenmare, Ray, Dickinson,
Dunseith, and other places; the supply is cheap and
inexhaustible for fuel, gas, electricity, and power. In 1908
there were 88 mines in operation and 289,435 tons mined. Clays
for pottery, fire and pressed brick abound in Stark, Dunn,
Mercer, Morton, Hettinger, and Billings counties. Cement is
found in Cavalier County on the border of Pembina. The artesian
basin is in North Dakota sandstone at the base of the upper
cretacean, at a depth of from eight hundred feet in the
south-east to fifteen hundred feet at Devil's Lake. Good common
brick clay may be found practically all over the state from
deposits in the glacial lakes. North Dakota has 5,012 miles of
railroad, and four main lines cross the state. There is direct
railway communication with Winnipeg, Brandon, and other points
on the Canadian Pacific.
MATTERS AFFECTING RELIGION
North Dakota is a code State. The civil and criminal codes
prepared by the New York commission but not then adopted by that
State, were adopted by Dakota Territory in 1865; a probate code
was adopted the same year, and thus the Territory of Dakota was
the first English-speaking community to adopt a codification of
its substantive law. The territorial laws, compiled in 1887,
were revised by the State in 1895, 1899, and 1905. Section 4,
Article 1 of the State Constitution provides: "The free exercise
and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without
discrimination or preference, shall be forever guaranteed in
this State, and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a
witness or juror on account of his opinion on matters of
religious belief; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured
shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness,
or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of
this State." The statute makes it a misdemeanour to prevent the
free exercise of religious worship and belief, or to compel by
threats or violence any particular form of worship, or to
disturb a religious assemblage by profane discourse, indecent
acts, unnecessary noise, selling liquor, keeping open huckster
shops, or exhibiting plays without licence, within a mile of
such assemblies. Servile labour (except works of necessity or
charity) is forbidden on Sunday; also public sports, trades,
manufactures, mechanical employment, and public trade (except
that meats, milk, and fish may be sold before nine A.M., also
food to be eaten on premises. Drugs, medicines, and surgical
appliances may be sold at any time). Service of process except
in criminal cases in prohibited on Sunday. A person uniformly
keeping another day of the week as holy time, may labour on
Sunday, provided he do not interrupt or disturb other persons in
observing the first day of the week. The fine for
Sabbath-breaking is not less than one dollar or more than ten
dollars for each offence. It is a misdemeanour to serve civil
process on Saturday on a person who keeps that day as the
Sabbath.
Oaths. Section 533 of the code of 1905, amended 1909, provides:
"The following officers are authorized to administer oaths: each
judge of the supreme court and his deputy, clerks of the
district court, clerks of the county court with increased
jurisdiction, county auditors and registers of deeds and their
deputies within their respective counties, county commissioners
within their respective counties, judges of the county court,
public administrators within their respective counties, justices
of the peace within their respective counties, notaries public
anywhere in the State upon complying with the provisions of
sections 545 and 546, city clerks or auditors, township clerks
and village recorders within their respective cities, townships,
and villages; each sheriff and his deputy within their
respective counties in the cases provided by law; other officers
in the cases especially provided by law." It is a misdemeanour
to take, or for an officer to administer, an extra-judicial
oath, except where the same is required by the provisions of
some contract as the basis or proof of claim, or issued to be
received by some person as proof of any fact in the performance
of any contract, obligation or duty instead of other evidence.
Blasphemy consists in wantonly uttering or publishing words,
reproaches, or profane words against God, Jesus Christ, the Holy
Ghost, the Holy Scripture, or the Christian religion. Profane
swearing consists in any use of the name of God, Jesus Christ,
or the Holy Ghost, either in imprecating Divine vengeance upon
the utterer or any other person, in a light, trifling, or
irreverent speech. Blasphemy is a misdemeanour, and profane
swearing is punishable by a fine of one dollar for each offence.
Obscenity in a public place or in the presence of females, or of
children under ten years of age is a misdemeanour.
Exemptions from Taxation. "All public school houses, academies,
colleges, institutions of learning, with the books and furniture
therein and grounds attached to such buildings, necessary for
their proper occupancy and use, not to exceed forty acres in
area and not leased or otherwise used with a view to profit;
also all houses used exclusively for public worship and lots and
parts of lots upon which such houses are erected; all land used
exclusively for burying grounds or for a cemetery; all buildings
and contents thereof used for public charity, including public
hospitals under the control of religion or charitable societies
used wholly or in part or public charity, together with the land
actually occupied by such institutions, not leased or otherwise
used with a view to profit, and all moneys and credits
appropriated solely to sustaining and belonging exclusively to
such institutions, are exempt from taxation." All churches,
parsonages, and usual outbuildings, and grounds not exceeding
one acre on which the same are situated, whether on one or more
tracts, also all personal property of religious corporations,
used for religious purposes, are exempt.
Matters Affecting Religious Work. The law provides for
corporations for religious, educational, benevolent, charitable,
or scientific purposes, giving to such corporations power to
acquire property, real and personal, by purchase, devise, or
bequest and hold the same and sell or mortgage it according to
the bylaws or a majority of votes of the members. Catholic
church corporations, according to diocesan statutes consist of
the bishop, vicar-general, local pastor, and two trustees. No
corporation or association for religious purposes shall acquire
or hold real estate of greater value than $200,000 (laws of
1909). Charitable trusts are favoured if conformable to the
statute against perpetuities, which forbids suspension of power
or of alienations for a longer period than the lives of persons
in being at the creation of condition (Hager vs. Sacrison, 123
N.W. Rep., 518). Cemetery corporation may be formed with powers
of regulation. The net proceeds must go to protect and improve
the grounds and not to the profit of the corporation or members.
Interment lot inalienable, but any heir may release to another
heir. Cemetery grounds are exempt from all process, lien, and
public burdens and uses.
Marriage and Divorce. Any unmarried male of the age of eighteen
or upwards and any unmarried female of the age of fifteen or
upwards, not otherwise disqualified, are capable of consenting
to marriage, but if the male is under twenty-one or the female
under eighteen, the licence shall not be issued without the
consent of parents or guardian, if there be any. Marriages
between parents and children including grandparents and
grandchildren, between brothers and sisters, of half or whole
blood, uncles and nieces, aunts and nephews, or cousins of the
first degree of half or whole blood, are declared incestuous and
absolutely void, and this applies to illegitimate as well as
legitimate children and relations. A marriage contracted by a
person having a former husband or wife, if the former marriage
has not been annulled or dissolved, is illegal and void from the
beginning, unless the former husband or wife was absent and
believed by such person to be dead for five years immediately
preceding. Judges of all courts of record and justices of the
peace, within their jurisdiction, "ordained ministers of the
Gospel," and "priests of every church" may perform the marriage
ceremony. The form used by Friends or Quakers is also valid.
Licences, issued by the county judge of the county where one of
the contracting parties resides, must be obtained and the
persons performing the ceremony must file the certificate
thereof, and such licence with the county judge within thirty
days after the marriage, such certificate to be signed by two
witnesses and the person performing the ceremony. Indians
contracting marriage according to Indian custom and co-habiting
as man and wife are deemed legally married. All marriages
contracted outside of the State and valid by the laws of the
State, where contracted, are deemed valid in this State. The
original certificate and certified copy thereof are evidences of
marriage in all courts. Marriages may be annulled for any of the
following causes existing at the time: (1) if the person seeking
annulment was under the age of legal consent, and such marriage
was contracted without the consent of parent or guardian, unless
after attaining the age of consent, they lived together as
husband and wife; (2) when former husband or wife of either
party was living and former marriage then in force; (3) when
either party was of unsound mind unless after coming to reason
the parties lived together as husband and wife; (4) when consent
was obtained by fraud, unless after full knowledge of facts the
party defrauded continued to live with the other in marriage
relation; (5) when consent was obtained by force, unless
afterwards they lived freely together; (6) incapacity.
Actions for annulment where former husband or wife is living,
and where party is of unsound mind, may be brought at any time
before the death of either party. Actions for annulment for
other causes must be brought by the party injured within four
years after arriving at age of consent or by parent or guardian
before such time, also for fraud within four years after
discovery. When a marriage is annulled children begotten before
the judgment are legitimate and succeed to the estate of both
parents. Marriages between white persons and coloured persons of
one eighth or more negro blood, are null and void by Act of
1907, and severe penalty is provided against parties, officials,
and clergy for violation of the law. Divorce may be granted for
(1) adultery, (2) extreme cruelty, (3) wilful desertion, (4)
wilful neglect, (5) habitual intemperance, (6) conviction of
felony. Neither party to a divorce may marry within three months
after decree is granted. Wilful desertion, wilful neglect, or
habitual intemperance must continue for one year before it is a
cause for divorce. As to proof in divorce cases the Statute
provides that no divorce be granted on default of the defendant
or upon the uncorroborated statement, admission, or testimony of
parties, or upon any statement or finding of facts made by
referee, but the court must in addition to any statement or
finding of referee, require proof of facts alleged. The court
has held that the fact of marriage alleged in complaint may be
admitted in answer without other corroboration. The restriction
as to corroboration applies to testimony, not to pleading, and
is intended to prevent collusive divorce. This statute is more
restrictive as to proof than the proposed resolution, No. 13, of
proceedings of the National Congress on Uniform Divorce which
reads: "A decree should not granted unless the cause is shown by
affirmative proof, aside from any admissions on the part of the
respondent." A residence of one year in the State is required
for the plaintiff in an action of divorce. Dower and Curtesy are
abolished, and a deed of the homestead must be signed by both
the husband and wife. Labour of children under fourteen years of
age is prohibited, and stringent rules provide for regulation of
those under sixteen, and provide no woman under eighteen years
of age may be compelled to work over ten hours; age of consent
is eighteen years.
Wills. A woman is of age at eighteen, and any person of sound
mind may, on arriving at that age, dispose of his or her real
and personal property by will. A married woman may will her
property without the consent of her husband. A nuncupative will
is limited to $1000, and to cases where the testator is in
military service in the field, or on board ship, and anticipates
death, or where death is anticipated from a wound received that
day. There must be two witnesses who are requested by the
testator to act as such. An olographic will is one dated,
written, and signed by the hand of the testator, and requires no
formalities. Other wills must be executed by the testator in
presence of two witnesses, who in his presence and in the
presence of each other, subscribe as witnesses.
Education. The educational system in North Dakota is on a broad
basis. Sections 16 and 36 of each Congressional township are
given to the common schools by Congress, also 5 per cent of the
net proceeds of the sale of public lands subsequent to admission
to be used as a permanent fund for schools, interest only to be
expended for support of common schools. The enabling act also
gives 72 sections for university purposes, to be sold for not
less than ten dollars per acre, proceeds to constitute a
permanent fund, interest only to be expended. Also 90,000 acres
for the Agricultural College, 40,000 acres each for the School
of Mines, Reform School, Deaf and Dumb School, Agricultural
College, State University, two State Normal Schools; 50,000
acres for capital buildings and 170,000 acres for such other
educational and charitable institutions as the legislature may
determine. No part of the school fund may be used for support of
any sectarian or denominational school, college or university.
The Normal Schools are located at Mayville and Valley City, the
Industrial Training School at Ellendale, the School of Forestry
at Bottineau, the Agricultural College at Fargo, the State
University (Arts, Law, Engineering, Model High School, State
School of Mines, Public Health Laboratory and Graduate
Departments) at Grand Forks; number of professors, instructors
and assistants, 68; lecturers, 13; students, 1000. Charitable
institutions are the Deaf and Dumb School at Devil's Lake, the
Hospital for Feeble Minded at Grafton, the Insane Asylum at
Jamestown, the School for the Blind at Bathgate, the Soldiers'
Home at Lisbon, the Reform School at Mandan. The permanent
school and institutional fund amounted to about $18,000,000 in
1908; the apportionment from that fund in 1903 was $274,348.80;
in 1908, $545,814.66. Ample provisions are made for State and
county institutes and teachers are required to attend. Third
Grade Certificates are abolished. The minimum salary for
teachers is $45 a mouth. Provisions are made for the extension
of the High School system, and also for consolidated schools and
transportation of children to the same. The legislative
appropriation in 1909 for the university was $181,000.
Prisons and Reformatories. The keeper of each prison is required
to provide at the expense of the county for each prisoner who
may be able and desires to read, a copy of the Bible or New
Testament to be used by the prisoner at seasonable and proper
times during his confinement, and any minister of the Gospel is
permitted access to such prisoners at seasonable and proper
times to perform and instruct prisoners in their moral and
religious duties. Suitable provisions are made for reduction of
time for good behaviour, for indeterminate sentences, and
paroling prisoners.
Sale of Liquor. The manufacture, importation, sale, gift,
barter, or trade of intoxicating liquors by any person,
association, or corporation as a beverage, is prohibited by
Article 20 of the State constitution, and by statute. Exceptions
are made in favour of sale in limited quantities on affidavit of
applicant by druggists for medicinal, mechanical, scientific,
and sacramental purposes, under permit granted at the discretion
of the district court. Not more than one half pint may be sold
to any one in one day and the purchaser must sign affidavit
stating the particular disease for which the same is required.
Sales to minors, habitual drunkards, and persons whose relatives
forbid, are prohibited. Places where intoxicating liquors are
sold or kept for sale or where persons are permitted to resort
for purpose of drinking intoxicating liquors are declared to be
common nuisances. The keeper is liable criminally and in an
action the nuisance may be abated and the premises closed for
one year. The statute also provides for civil liability against
persons violating the law, in favour of those taking charge of
and providing for intoxicated persons, and in favour of every
wife, child, parent, guardian, employer, or other person injured
in person or property or means of support by any intoxicated
person.
Statistics of the Protestant Churches. The Episcopalian Church
has 4664 members; 1224 families; 97 Sunday School teachers; 741
pupils; 42 churches and chapels; 5410 sittings; 16 rectories;
795 members in guilds. The value of the churches, chapels, and
grounds is $158,055; rectories, $49,000; other property,
$42,850. There are 6 parishes; 36 organized missions; and 44
unorganized missions. Total offerings for all purposes for the
year ending 1 June, 1910, were $32,496.28. The Methodist
Episcopal Church had in the State in 1908, 223 church buildings
valued at $600,000, and 101 parsonages valued at $150,000, with
a membership of about 11,000. The most important fact in
connexion with this organization is the affiliation of Wesley
College with the State university, where the Methodists aim to
give religious and other instruction in their own buildings and
arrange for their pupils to get the benefit of secular
instruction at the State university. The plan suggests a
possible solution of the much vexed question of division of the
school fund. The Presbyterian Church has 7 presbyteries; 175
ministers; 7185 members, 9411 Sunday School members. They
contributed for all purposes in the past year, $150,635. There
are 185 church organization; 50 preaching stations; 132 church
buildings, and 62 manses. Value of church manses and educational
property was estimated at $800,000 in 1908. This denomination
has recently located at Jamestown, the Presbyterian university,
said to have an endowment fund of about $200,000. The Lutheran
Church is composed chiefly of Norwegians and other
Scandinavians. According to the "Norwegian American," published
in Norwegian at Minneapolis in 1907, there were in the State in
1905 of Norwegian birth and descent, 140,000. The Lutheran
church had 380 congregations, and about 240 churches. The
Baptist Church in 1908 had a membership of 4161, a Sunday School
enrollment of 3164; 53 churches, valued at $191,430; and 28
parsonages valued at $35,772.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY
The establishment of Catholic missions in North Dakota cannot be
reliably traced to an earlier date than 1818. In that year Rt.
Rev. J. Octave Plessis of Quebec sent Rev. Joseph Provencher and
Rev. Josef Severe Dumoulin to Fort Douglas, as St. Boniface was
then called, and after the grasshoppers had destroyed the crops,
the Selkirk colonists went in large numbers to Pembina. Father
Provencher sent Father Dumoulin in September, 1818, to minister
to the spiritual wants of the colonists, with instructions to
spend the winter at Pembina. When that place was found to be
within the United States, Father Dumoulin was recalled. Rev.
George Anthony Belcourt became the second resident priest of
North Dakota. A gifted linguist, well versed in the Algonquin
languages which included the Chippewa, he taught the latter to
the young missionaries and composed an Indian grammar and
dictionary, still standard works. He was resident priest from
1831-8 and often said Mass in every camping place from Lake
Traverse to Pembina and in the interior of North Dakota. It was
customary in the summer for the settlers to go to the
south-western part of the State to hunt bison on the prairies,
and to take their families with them. The priest always
accompanied them and in those camps for the first time the
children were given an opportunity of religious instruction.
Father Belcourt is said to have evangelized the whole of the
Turtle Mountain Chippewa, a circumstance which kept that tribe
at peace with the government during the Sioux troubles following
the Minnesota massacre in 1862. Father De Smet spent a few weeks
with the Mandans on the Missouri in 1840 and baptized a number
of their children. Father Jean Baptiste Marie Genin is credited
with establishing a mission at St. Michael's, Fort Totten, in
1865. His name is honourably and extensively associated with
much of the missionary history of the State. The first real
missionary work among the Sioux of North Dakota dates from 1874
when Major Forbes (a Catholic), Indian Agent at Fort Totten,
with the help of the Catholic Indian Bureau, induced the Sisters
of Charity (Grey Nuns) of Montreal under Sr. Mary Clapin to
establish themselves in his agency. Father Bonnin came as their
chaplain. Rev. Claude Ebner, O.S.B., was stationed at Fort
Totten, 1877-86. Rev. Jerome Hunt, O.S.B., has devoted his
talent and zeal to the welfare of the Indians at Fort Totten
Reservation since 1882, and has written and published in the
Sioux language, a Bible history, prayerbook with instruction and
hymns, and a smaller book of prayer, and for eighteen years has
published an Indian paper in Sioux. The Grey Nuns at Fort Totten
have conducted a school since 1874.
Rt. Rev. Martin Marty, O.S.B., was Vicar Apostolic of Dakota
until 27 December, 1889, when Rt.Rev. John Shanley became Bishop
of Jamestown; the see was later changed to Fargo. The number of
churches increased from 40 in 1890 to 210 in 1908. After the
death of Bishop Shanley the diocese was divided. Rt.Rev. James
O'Reilly, as Bishop of Fargo, has charge of the eastern part,
and Rt.Rev. Vincent Wehrle, O.S.B., rules over the western part
as Bishop of Bismarck. According to the census of 1907, the
Catholic population was 70,000 but a subsequent count shows the
number much larger, and the latest estimate by Father
O'Driscoll, secretary of the Fargo diocese, places it at about
90,000. There are in the two dioceses, 140 priests; 14 religious
houses; 1 monastery; 7 academies; 5 hospitals; and about 250
churches. The Sisters of St. Joseph have a hospital at Fargo and
one at Grand Forks, and an academy at Jamestown. The Sisters of
St. Benedict have establishments at Richardton, Glen Ellen,
Oakes, Fort Yates, and a hospital at Bismarck. The Presentation
Nuns have an academy and orphanage at Fargo. Sisters of Mary of
the Presentation are established at Wild Rice, Oakwood, Willow
City, and Lisbon. The Ursuline sisters conduct St. Bernard's
Academy at Grand Forks. Three Sisters of Mercy opened a mission
school at Belcourt in the Turtle Mountains among the Chippewa in
1884, and continued to teach until 1907, when their convent was
destroyed by fire. They established at Devil's Lake, St.
Joseph's hospital in 1895 and the Academy of St. Mary of the
Lake in 1908. The State has several active councils of the
Knights of Columbus and Courts of the Catholic Order of
Foresters. Among the Catholics distinguished in public life are
John Burke, three times elected governor; John Carmody, Justice
of the Supreme Court; Joseph Kennedy, Dean of the Normal
College, State University; W.E. Purcell, U.S. Senator; and P.D.
Norton, Secretary of State.
State Hist. Society, I, II (Bismarck, 1906-8); History and
Biography of North Dakota (Chicago, 1900); IRVING, Astoria (New
York); WILLARD, Story of the Prairies (Chicago, 1903); North
Dakota Blue Books (Bismarck, 1899-1909); North Dakota Magazines,
pub. by Comm. of Agriculture (Bismarck, 1908); Catholic Almanac
(1910); Journal of the 26th Annual Convocation of the
Episcopalian Church (Fargo, 1910); 10th Biennial Report of Supt.
Pub. Instruction (Bismarck, 1908); Minutes of Gen. Assembly of
Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia, 1910); LARNED, Reference
Digest; New American Ency. (1876); Norwegian American in
Norwegian (Minneapolis, 1907); CLAPP, Clays of North Dakota in
Economic Geology, II, no. 6 (Sept. and Oct., 1907; North Dakota
Codes (1905); Session Laws (1907-9); ROOSEVELT, Winning of the
West, IV (New York, 1889-96); University Catalogue (1910); The
Bulletin, a diocesan publication (Fargo, March and May, 1909).
M.H. BRENNAN
Northern Territory
Northern Territory
(Prefecture Apostolic)
The Northern Territory, formerly Alexander Land, is that part of
Australia bounded on the north by the ocean, on the south by
South Australia, on the east by Queensland and on the west by
Western Australia. It thus lies almost entirely within the
tropics and has an area of 523,620 square miles. It is crown
land, but was provisionally annexed to South Australia, 6 July,
1863. It is practically uninhabited; the population is roughly
estimated at between 25,000 and 30,000, of whom less than a
thousand are Europeans, about 4000 Asiatics mostly Chinese, the
remainder being aborigines. There are but two towns, Palmerston
at Port Darwin, with a population of 600, and Southport on
Blackmore River, twenty-four miles south. There is
transcontinental telegraphic communication (over 2000 miles)
established in 1872, between Palmerston and Adelaide, but
railroad communication extends only 146 miles south of the
former town, a distance of over 1200 miles from the northern
terminal of the railway. There are large navigable rivers in the
north, and Port Darwin is probably surpassed in the world as a
deep water port by Sydney Harbor alone. The annual rainfall
varies from sixty-two inches on the coast, where the climate
resembles that of French Cochin China to six inches at Charlotte
Waters. Droughts, cattle disease, and the financial crisis of
1891 have combined to retard the development of the country.
John McDouall Stuart, the pioneer explorer, and his successors
declare that large tracts in the interior are suitable for the
cultivation of cotton and the breeding of cattle, while the
government officials at Port Darwin have grown spices, fibre
plants, maize, and ceara rubber with great success. The crown
lands (only 473,278 of the total 334,643,522 acres have been
leased) are regulated by the North Territory Crown Lands Act of
1890-1901.
Northern Territory has a varied ecclesiastical history. In 1847,
by a decree of the Sacred Congregation (27 May), it was made a
diocese (Diocese of Port Victoria and Palmerston), Joseph Serra,
O.S.B., consecrated at Rome, 15 August, 1848, being appointed to
the see. He, however, was transferred in 1849 before taking
possession to Daulia, and nominated coadjutor "cum jure
successionis", and temporal administrator of the Diocese of
Perth; he retired in 1861 and died in 1886 in Spain. He was
succeeded by Mgr Rosendo Salvator, O.S.B., consecrated at Naples
on 15 August, 1849, but be was not able to take possession of
his see, for in the meantime the whole European population had
abandoned the diocese; consequently he returned to the
Benedictine Abbey of New Norcia in Western Australia where he
resided as abbot nullius. Resigning the See of Port Victoria, 1
August, 1888, he was appointed titular Bishop of Adrana, 29
March, 1889. Seven years previously the Jesuits of the Austrian
Province were commissioned to establish a mission for the
purpose of civilizing and converting the aborigines; about
sixteen members of the order devoted themselves to the work and
stations were established at Rapid Creek (St. Joseph's), seven
miles north-east of Palmerston, Daly River (Holy Rosary) and
Serpentine Lagoon (Sacred Heart of Jesus). There were 2
churches, 1 chapel, and 2 mixed schools. In 1891 there were
about 260 Catholics in the mission. However the work did not
thrive and after about twenty years' labor the Jesuits withdrew,
Father John O'Brien, S.J., being the last administrator. On
their withdrawal the diocese was administered by Bishop William
Kelly of Geraldton. Somewhat later the mission was confided to
the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Issoudun and established
in 1906 as the Prefecture Apostolic of the Northern Territory.
Very Rev. Francis Xavier Gsell, M.S.H., b. 30 October, 1872, was
elected administrator Apostolic on 23 April, 1906. He resides at
Port Darwin. At present there are in the prefecture 3
missionaries, 2 churches, and 1 chapel.
Missiones Catholicae (Rome, 1907): Australasian Catholic
Directory (Sydney, 1910); GORDON, Australasian Handbook for
1891; BASEDOW, Anthropological Notes on the North-Western
coastal tribes of the Northern Territory of South Australia in
Trans., Proc. and Reports of the Royal Society of South
Australasia, XXXI (Adelaide, 1907, 1-62; PARSONS, Historical
account of the pastoral and mineral resources of the North
Territory of South Australia in Proc. of the Royal Geog. Soc. of
Australasia, South Australia Branch, V (Ade1aide, 1902),
appendix, 1-16; HOLTZE, Capabilities of the Northern Territory
for tropical agriculture (Adelaide, 1902), appendix, 17-27.
ANDREW A. MACERLEAN
Northmen (Vikings)
Northmen (Vikings)
The Scandinavians who, in the ninth and tenth centuries, first
ravaged the coasts of Western Europe and its islands and then
turned from raiding into settlers. This article will be confined
to the history of their exodus.
Tacitus refers to the "Suiones" (Germ., xliv, xlv) living beyond
the Baltic as rich in arms and ships and men. But, except for
the chance appearance of a small Viking fleet in the Meuse early
in the sixth century, nothing more is heard of the Scandinavians
until the end of the eighth century, when the forerunners of the
exodus appeared as raiders off the English and Scottish coasts.
In their broad outlines the political divisions of Scandinavia
were much as they are at the present day, except that the Swedes
were confined to a narrower territory. The Finns occupied the
northern part of modern Sweden, and the Danes the southern
extremity and the eastern shores of the Cattegat, while the
Norwegians stretched down the coast of the Skager-Rack, cutting
off the Swedes from the western sea. The inhabitants of these
kingdoms bore a general resemblance to the Teutonic peoples,
with whom they were connected in race and language.
In their social condition and religion they were not unlike the
Angles and Saxons of the sixth century. Though we cannot account
satisfactorily for the exodus, we may say that it was due
generally to the increase of the population, to the breaking
down of the old tribal system, and the efforts of the kings,
especially Harold Fairhair, to consolidate their power, and
finally to the love of adventure and the discovery that the
lands and cities of Western Christendom lay at their mercy.
The Northmen invaded the West in three main streams:
+ the most southerly started from South Norway and Denmark and,
passing along the German coast, visited both sides of the
Channel, rounded the Breton promontory, and reached the mouths
of the Loire and the Garonne. It had an offshoot to the west
of England and Ireland and in some cases it was prolonged to
the coasts of Spain and Portugal (where Northmen came into
contact with Saracen) and even into the Mediterranean and to
Italy.
+ The midmost stream crossed from the same region directly to
the east and north of England, while
+ the northern stream flowed from Norway westward to the Orkneys
and other islands, and, dividing there, moved on towards
Iceland or southwards to Ireland and the Irish Sea.
The work of destruction which the first stream of Northmen
wrought on the continent is told in words of despair in what is
left of the Frankish Chronicles, for the pagan and greedy
invaders seem to have singled out the monasteries for attack and
must have destroyed most of the records of their own
devastation. A Danish fleet appeared off Frisia in 810, and ten
years later another reached the mouth of the Loire, but the
systematic and persevering assault did not begin until about
835. From that date till the early years of the following
century the Viking ships were almost annual visitors to the
coasts and river valleys of Germany and Gaul.
About 850 they began to establish island strongholds near the
mouths of the rivers, where they could winter and store their
booty, and to which they could retire on the rare occasions when
the Frankish or English kings were able to check their raids.
Such were Walcheren at the mouth of the Scheldt, Sheppey at that
of the Thames, Oissel in the lower Seine, and Noirmoutier near
the Loire.
For over seventy years Gaul seemed to lie almost at the mercy of
the Danes. Their ravages spread backwards from the coasts and
river valleys; they penetrated even to Auvergne. There was
little resistance whether from king or count. Robert the Strong
did, indeed, succeed in defending Paris and so laid the
foundations of what was afterward the House of Capet, but he was
killed in 866. In the end the success of the Danes brought this
period of destruction to a close; the raiders turned into
colonists, and in 911 Charles the Simple, by granting Normandy
to Rollo, was able to establish a barrier against further
invasion.
Meanwhile, England had been assailed not only from the Channel
and the southwest, but also by Viking ships crossing the North
Sea. The Danes for a time had been even more successful than in
Gaul, for Northern and Eastern districts fell together into
their hands and the fate of Wessex seemed to have been decided
by a succession of Danish victories in 871. Alfred, however,
succeeded in recovering the upper hand, the country was
partitioned between Dane and West Saxon, and for a time further
raids were stopped by the formation of a fleet and the defeat of
Hastings in 893.
To Ireland, too, the Northmen came from two directions, from
south and north. It was one of the first countries of the West
to suffer, for at the beginning of the ninth century it was the
weakest. The Vikings arrived even before 800, and as early as
807 their ships visited the west coast. They were, however,
defeated near Killarney in 812 and the full fury of the attack
did not fall on the country until 820. Twenty years later there
appear to have been three Norse "kingdoms" in Ireland, those of
Dublin, Waterford, and Limerick, with an overking, but the Irish
won a series of victories, while war broke out between the Danes
coming by the Channel and the Norwegians descending from the
north. For the next century and a half the Danish wars
continued. Neither party gained a distinct advantage and both
the face of the country and the national character suffered.
Finally in 1014, on Good Friday, at Clontarf, on the shores of
Dublin Bay, the Danes suffered a great defeat from Brian Boru.
Henceforth they ceased to be an aggressive force in Ireland,
though they kept their position in a number of the coast towns.
During the earlier attacks on Ireland, the Scottish Islands and
especially the Orkneys had become a permanent centre of Norse
power and the home of those who had been driven out by Harold
Fairhair. They even returned to help the king's enemies; to such
an extent that about 855 Harold followed up victory in Norway by
taking possession of the Orkneys. The result was that the
independent spirits amongst the Vikings pushed on to the Faroes
and Iceland, which had been already explored, and established
there one of the most remarkable homes of Norse civilization.
About a hundred years later the Icelanders founded a colony on
the strip of coast between the glaciers and the sea, which, to
attract settlers, they called Greenland, and soon after occurred
the temporary settlement in Vinland on the mainland of North
America.
But the prows of the Viking ships were not always turned towards
the West. They also followed the Norwegian coast past the North
Cape and established trade relations with "Biarmaland" on the
shores of the White Sea. The Baltic, however, provided an easier
route to the east and in the ninth and tenth centuries it was a
Swedish Lake. By the middle of the ninth century a half-mythical
Ruric reigned over a Norse or "Varangian" Kingdom at Novgorod
and, in 880, one of his successors, Oleg, moved his capital to
Kiev, and ruled from the Baltic to the Black Sea. He imposed on
Constantinople itself in 907 the humiliation which had befallen
so many of the cities of the West, and "Micklegarth" had to pay
Danegeld to the Norse sovereign of a Russian army. The Varangian
ships are even said to have sailed down the Volga and across the
remote waters of the Caspian.
There is, however, a second stage of Norse enterprise as
remarkable, though for different reasons, as the first. The
Norman conquests of Southern Italy and of England and in part
the Crusades, in which the Normans took so large a share, prove
what the astonishing vitality of the Northmen could do when they
had received Christianity and Frankish civilization from the
people they had plundered.
It is impossible to account for the irresistible activity of the
Northmen. It is a mystery of what might be called "racial
personality". Their forces were rarely numerous, their ships
small and open, suited to the protected waters of their own
coasts, most unsuitable for ocean navigation, and there was no
guiding power at home. Their success was due to the indomitable
courage of each unit, to a tradition of discipline which made
their compact "armies" superior in fighting qualities and
activity to the mixed and ill organized forces which Frankish
and English kings usually brought against them. Often they are
said to have won a battle by a pretended flight, a dangerous
manoeuvre except with well-disciplined troops. Until Alfred
collected a fleet for the protection of his coast they had the
undisputed command of the sea.
They were fortunate in the time of their attack. Their serious
attacks did not begin till the empire of Charlemagne was
weakened from within, and the Teutonic principle of division
among heirs was overcoming the Roman principle of unity. When
the period of reconstitution began, the spirit of discipline,
which had given the Northmen success in war, made them one of
the great organizing forces of the early Middle Ages.
Everywhere these "Romans of the Middle Ages" appear as
organizers. They took the various material provided for them in
Gaul, England, Russia, Southern Italy, and breathed into it life
and activity. But races which assimilate are not enduring, and
by the end of the twelfth century the Northmen had finished
their work in Europe and been absorbed into the population which
they had conquered and governed.
F.F. URQUHART
Christopher Norton
Christopher Norton
Martyr; executed at Tyburn, 27 May, 1570. His father was Richard
Norton of Norton Conyers, Yorkshire, and his mother, Susan
Neville, daughter of Richard, second Baron Latimer Richard
Norton, known as "Old Norton", was the head of his illustrious
house, which remained faithful to the Catholic religion. Despite
this fact he held positions of influence during the reigns of
Henry VIII and Edward VI, was Governor of Norham Castle under
Mary, and in 1568-69 was sheriff of Yorkshire. He had been
pardoned for joining in the Pilgrimage of Grace, but he and his
brother Thomas, his nine sons, of whom Christopher was the
seventh, and many of their relatives hastened to take part in
the northern uprising of 1569. He was attainted and fled to
Flanders with four of his sons, two of his sons were pardoned,
another apostatized, Christopher and his father's brother having
been captured proved themselves steadfast Catholics, were
hanged, disemboweled, and quartered. Edmund, who apostatized,
and a sister are the subject of Wordsworth's "White Doe of
Rylstone".
SARTERS, Hist. of Durham, I, clx; LINGARD, Hist. of Eng. (ed.
1849), VI, 195; Records of English Catholics I, ii.
BLANCHE M. KELLY
Norway
Norway
Norway, comprising the smaller division of the Scandinavian
peninsula, is bounded on the east by Lapland and Sweden, and on
the west by the Atlantic. The surface is generally a plateau
from which rise precipitous mountains, as Snähätten (7566 feet)
and Stora Galdhöppigen (about 8399 feet). The west coast is
deeply indented by fiords. In eastern and southern Norway the
valleys are broader and at times form extensive, fruitful
plains. There are several navigable rivers, as the Glommen and
Vormen, and lakes, of which the largest is Lake Myösen. The
numerous islands along the coast, some wooded and some bare,
promote shipping and fishing; in the Lofoten Islands alone
twenty million cod are annually caught. The climate is only
relatively mild, with rain almost daily. Agriculture consists
largely in raising oats and barley, but not enough for home
consumption. Rye and wheat are grown only in sheltered spots.
Bread is commonly made of oats. The cultivation of the potato is
widespread, a fact of much importance. There are in the country
only about 160,000 horses; these are of a hardy breed.
Cattle-raising is an important industry, the number of cattle
being estimated at a million, that of sheep and goats at over
two millions. Of late attention has been paid to the raising of
pigs. The Lapps of the north maintain over a hundred thousand
reindeer in the grassy pasture land of the higher plateaus. The
most important trees are pine, fir, and birch; oak and beech are
not so common.
Forestry was long carried on unscientifically; considerable
effort has been made to improve conditions, and wood is now
exported chiefly as wrought or partly wrought timber. Silver is
mined at Kongsberg, and iron at Röraas, but the yield of
minerals is moderate. Coal is altogether lacking. The peasants
are skilful wood-carvers, and in isolated valleys still make all
necessary household articles, besides spinning and weaving their
apparel. The Northmen were always famous seamen, and Norwegians
are now found on the ships of all nations. The merchant marine
of about 8000 vessels is one of the most important of the world.
Good roads and railways have greatly increased traffic. A
constantly increasing number of strangers are attracted by the
natural beauties. Although in this way a great deal of money is
brought into the country, the morals and honesty of the people
unfortunately suffer in consequence. The area is 123,843 sq.
miles; the population numbers 2,250,000 persons.
The great majority belong officially to the Lutheran state
Church, but on account of liberal laws there is a rapid
development of sects. Catholics did not regain religious liberty
until the middle of the nineteenth century. Reports as to their
numbers vary from 1500, as given in the Protestant "Tägliche
Rundschau", to 100,000, as given in the Catholic "Germania" (see
below). Norway is a constitutional monarchy, its ruler since 18
November, 1905, has been King Haakon VII, a Danish prince. The
colours of the flag are red, white, and blue. The country is
divided into 20 counties and 56 bailiwicks. Justice is
administered by district courts (sörenskrifverier).
Eccleciastically the country is divided into 6 dioceses, with 83
provosts or deans, and 450 pastors. The largest city and the
royal residence is Christiania (230,000 inhabitants), the seat
of government, of the Parliament (Storthing), of the chief
executive, of the state university, and of other higher schools.
The most important commercial city is Bergen (80,000
inhabitants), important even in the Middle Ages and for a long
time controlled by the Hanseatic League. Trondhjem, formerly
Nidaros, a city of 40,000 inhabitants, was earlier the see of
the Catholic archbishops, and the place where the Catholic kings
were crowned and buried. Its fine cathedral, now in process of
restoration, contains the bones of St. Olaf, the patron saint of
Norway. The army is not highly trained; men between twenty-three
and thirty-three years of age are liable for military duty. The
modest well-manned navy is only used for coast defence.
HISTORY
Unlike the Swedes and Danes, the Norwegians were not organized
even so late as the ninth century. The name of king was borne by
the chiefs and heads of separate clans, but their authority was
limited and the rights of the subjects very extensive. Only by
marauding expeditions were the Vikings able to gain honour and
wealth, and at times also to acquire control of extensive
districts. Their early history is lost in the fabulous tales of
the bards. In 872, Harold Haarfager (Fair-Haired), after a
decisive sea-fight near Stavanger, established his authority
over all the clans. Those refusing to submit left the country
and their possessions were confiscated. When Harold divided his
kingdom among several sons, its permanence seemed once more
uncertain, but Hakon the Good restored a transient unity and
procured an entrance for Christianity. Olaf Trygvesson continued
the work of union after Hakon's death, and promoted the spread
of the new faith, but in a sea-fight with the united forces of
the Danes and Swedes he was killed about 1000 near Svalder (of
uncertain location). The kingdom now fell apart, some portions
coming under Cnut the Great of Denmark.
Finally Olaf, son of Harold Grenske and a descendant of Harold
Haarfager (1015), re-established the boundaries of Norway, and
aided Christianity to its final victory. At a later date Olaf
became the patron saint of Norway. His severity so embittered
the great families that they combined with Cnut and forced him
to flee the country. Returning with a small army from Sweden, he
was defeated and killed in the battle of Stiklestad (29 July,
1030). His heroic death and the marvellous phenomena that
occurred in connexion with his body completely changed the
feeling of his opponents. His son, Magnus the Good, was
unanimously chosen his successor (1035), and the Danish
intruders were driven away. Magnus died childless in 1047, and
the kingdom went to his father's half-brother Harold, son of
Sigurd. Harold had won fame and wealth as a viking, and had been
an important personage at the Byzantine Court. On account of his
grimness he was called Hardrada (the Stem). Impelled by
ambition, he first waged a bloody war with Denmark and then
attacked England. On an incursion into Northumberland, he was
defeated at the battle of Stamford Bridge (1066). His son, Olaf
the Quiet, repaired the injuries caused the country by Harold
Hardrada's policy. Olaf's successor, Magnus, conquered the
Scotch islands, waged successful war with Sweden, and even
gained parts of Ireland, where he was finally killed. One of his
sons, Sigurd Jorsalafari (the traveller to Jerusalem), went on a
crusade to the Holy Land, while another son, Eystein, peacefully
acquired Jemtland, a part of Sweden. With Sigurd's death (1130)
the kingdom entered upon a period of disorder caused partly by
strife between claimants to the throne, partly by rivalry
between the secular and ecclesiastical dignitaries, whose
partisans (known as the Birkebeinar and the Baglar) perpetrated
unbelievable outrages and cruelty on each other. The power of
the king sank steadily, while that of the bishops increased. For
a time Sverre (1177-1202) seemed successful, but lasting peace
was not attained until the reign of his grandson, Hakon the Old
(1217-63). Hakon ruled with wisdom and force and was highly
regarded by the rulers of other countries. During his reign
Norway reached its greatest extent, including Greenland and
Iceland. He died in the Orkney Islands (1263) while returning
from an expedition against the Scotch.
His peace-loving son Magnus Lagoboête (the Law-Mender) tried to
establish law and order and prepared a book of laws. His efforts
to promote commerce and intercourse resulted unfortunately, as
the Hanseatic League, to which he granted many privileges, used
these to the detriment of the country, and gradually brought it
into a state of grievous dependence. With the death (1319) of
the vigorous younger son of Magnus, Hakon V, the male line of
Harold Harfager became extinct. The crown went to the three year
old King Magnus Eriksson of Sweden, son of Hakon's daughter,
Ingeborg; this brought about for the first time a close union
between the two kingdoms of northern Scandinavia. When King
Magnus assumed the government (1332), it was soon evident that,
although possessing many good qualities, he lacked force. He
seldom came to Norway, and the Norwegians felt themselves
neglected. They forced him, when holding court at Varberg
(1343), to send his younger son Hakon as viceroy to Norway,
where Hakon soon gathered an independent court, and in 1335
became the actual ruler. Seven years later he was elected King
of Sweden by a part of the Swedish nobility, but had to yield to
Duke Albert of Mecklenburg, chosen by an opposing faction. In
1363 Hakon married Margaret, daughter of King Waldemar of
Denmark, and won with her a claim to the Danish throne. As
Waldemar, when he died in 1375, left no male descendants, he was
succeeded by their son, Olaf. Olaf also became King of Norway
upon the death of his father, and died in 1387. His mother, an
able and energetic ruler, entered at once upon the
administration of Denmark. In Norway she was not only made ruler
for life, but her nephew, Eric of Pomerania, was acknowledged as
the lawful heir. Meanwhile, Albert of Mecklenburg, greatly
disliked in Sweden and the estates, entered into negotiations
with Margaret, whose troops took him prisoner (1389). The same
year Eric was acknowledged King of Norway, and in 1395-6 as King
of Denmark and Sweden. In 1397 the chief men of the three
countries met at Kalmar to arrange a basis for a permanent legal
confederation (the Union of Galmar). The plan failed, as no one
country was willing to make the sacrifice necessary for the
interest of all, but Eric was crowned king of the three united
lands.
Up to 1408 Margaret was the real ruler. With unwearied activity
she journeyed everywhere, watched over the administration of law
and government, cut down the great estates of the nobles for the
benefit of the crown, and protected the ordinary freeman.
Denmark was always her first interest. She placed Danish
officials in Sweden and forced the Church of that country to
accept Danish bishops; the result was often unfortunate, as in
the appointment of the Archbishop of Upsala (1408). Margaret's
efforts to re-gain former possessions of the three Scandinavian
countries were successful only in one case; she purchased the
Island of Gotland from the Teutonic Knights. She died suddenly
(1412) in the harbour of Flensburg whither she had gone to
obtain Schleswig from the Counts of Holstein. Left to himself,
the headstrong and hot-tempered Eric made one mistake after
another and soon found all the Hanseatic towns on the Baltic
against him. Conditions were still worse after the death of his
one faithful counsellor, his wife Philippa, daughter of Henry IV
of England. In Sweden increasing taxes, constant disputes with
the clergy, and the appointment of bad officials aroused a
universal discontent, which led later to dangerous outbreaks.
Vain attempts were made (1436) to restore the tottering union.
Disregarding his promises, Eric withdrew to Gotland, where he
remained inactive. In 1438 his deposition was declared by Norway
and Sweden, and his nephew, Duke Christopher of Bavaria, was
elected king. Upon Christopher's early death (1448) the union
was virtually dissolved: the Swedes chose Karl Knutsson as king,
and the Danes called Count Christian of Oldenburg to the throne.
At first Norway wavered between the two, but Christian was able
to retain control.
Of Christian's two sons Hans was at first only ruler of Denmark
and Norway, but, by an agreement made at Calmar, he was able to
gain Sweden also. Yet it was only after defeating Sten Sture
that his position in Sweden was secure. King Hans I was
succeeded (1513) in Denmark and Norway by his son, Christian II.
Christian's cruelty to the conquered Swedes prepared the way for
the defection of that country to Gustavus Vasa; consequently, he
was indirectly responsible for the withdrawal of Sweden from
Catholic unity. Christian soon aroused dissatisfaction in his
own country. Undue preference granted to the lower classes
turned the nobility against him, and his undisguised efforts to
open the way for the teachings of Luther repelled loyal
Catholics. Serious disorders followed in Jutland, and Christian,
losing courage, sought to save himself by flight. With the aid
of the Hanseatic League his uncle, Duke Frederick of
Schleswig-Holstein, soon acquired possession of his kingdoms.
The new king and his son, Christian III, were fanatical
adherents of the new doctrine, and by craft and force brought
about its victory in Denmark (1539). In Norway Archbishop Olaf
of Trondhjem laboured in vain for the maintenance of Catholicism
and the establishment of national independence. The majority of
the peasants were indifferent and the impoverished nobility, who
hoped to benefit by the introduction of the "pure Gospel", urged
Christian on. After the departure of the church dignitaries
Christian acquired the mastery of the country (1537). Norway now
ceased to be an independent state. While retaining the name of
kingdom it was for nearly three hundred years (until 1814) only
a Danish province, administered by Danish officials and at times
outrageously plundered. Here, as in Sweden and Denmark, people
were gradually and systematically turned away from the Catholic
Faith, though it was long before Catholicism was completely
extinguished. The last Bishop of Holum in Iceland, Jon Arason,
died a martyr. The king and the nobility seized the lands of the
Church. The chief nobles acquired inordinate influence, and the
landed proprietors, once so proud of their independence, fell
under the control of foreign tyrants.
As regards territorial development in the Middle Ages, Norway
had a number of tributary provinces--in the north, Finmark,
inhabited by heathen Lapps; various groups of islands south-west
of Norway as: the Farve Islands, the Orkneys, the Shetlands, and
the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, to which were added later
Iceland and Greenland. During the period of the union, Norway
also included Bohuslän, Härjedalen, Jemtland, and some smaller
districts, all now belonging to Sweden. With these islands and
outlying territories the monarchy comprised about 7000 square
miles. The Scotch islands were lost towards the end of the
fifteenth century, and at a later period the colonies in
Greenland were totally neglected. Originally the kingdom had
consisted of four provinces, each with its own laws, but when a
system of law for the entire country was introduced, it was
divided into eleven judicial districts. The most closely settled
districts were the fertile lowlands on the inlets of the sea,
now Christiania and Trondhjem fiords. The waterway from
Trondhjem to Oslo, near the present Christiania, was the most
important route for traffic. There was also much intercourse by
water between Oslo and Bergen. Through the mountain districts
huts for the convenience of travellers (Spälastugor) were
erected, and developed later into inns and taverns. The country
was unprepared for war. The topography and economic conditions
made it difficult to mobilize the land forces. The soldiers were
not paid, but only fed. The chief state officials lived in
Bohus, Akershus, Tunsberg, and the royal fortified castles on
the harbours of Bergen and Trondhjem. Ecclesiastically, Norway
was at first under the direction of the Archbishop of Lund
(1103); later (1152) under the Archbishop of Trondhjem, who had
jurisdiction over the Bishops of Bergen, Stavanger, Oslo, Hamar,
Farvê, Kirkwall (Orkney Islands), Skalholt and Holar (Holum) in
Iceland, and Gardar (Garde) in Greenland. Jerntland was subject
to the Swedish Archdiocese of Upsala. There were a thousand
well-endowed churches, thirty monasteries, and various orders of
women: Benedictines, Cistercians, Præmonstratensians,
Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians, and Brigittines. Schools
were attached to the cathedrals and to most of the monasteries.
For higher education Norwegians went to foreign universities,
especially to Paris.
From the reign of Christian III Norway shared the fortunes of
Denmark. Christian's son, Frederick II (1559-88), paid no
attention to Norway, but much was done for the country during
the long reign of Christian IV (1588-1648), who endeavoured to
develop the country by encouraging mining at Konsberg and
Röraas, and to protect it from attack by improving the army.
Jerntland and Herjudalen, however, had to be ceded to Sweden.
Frederick III (1648-70) was also obliged to cede Bohuslan.
Frederick V (1746-66) encouraged art, learning, commerce, and
manufactures. Prosperity strengthened the self-reliance of the
people and their desire for political independence. In 1807 they
were granted autonomous administration, and in 1811 a national
university was founded at Christiania. Political events enabled
Sweden to force Denmark in the Treaty of Keil to relinquish
Norway. Many of the Norwegians not being in favour of this, a
national diet, held at Eidsvold (17 May, 1814), agreed upon a
constitution and chose as king the popular Danish prince,
Christian Frederick. But the Powers interfered and ratified the
union with Sweden. The Swedish monarchs, Charles John XIV, Oscar
I, Charles XV, and Oscar II, had a difficult position to
maintain in Norway. Notwithstanding zealous and successful
efforts to promote the material and intellectual prosperity of
the land, they never attained popularity, nor could they
reconcile national dislikes. Friction increased, the Norwegian
parliament growing steadily more radical and even becoming the
exponent of republican ideas. From 1884 the Storthing, which now
possessed the real power, steadfastly urged the dissolution of
the union, and on 7 June, 1905, declared it to be dissolved. The
Swedish Government naturally was unwilling to consent to this
revolutionary action. Negotiations were successfully concluded
at the Convention of Karlstad, 23 September, 1905. The
Norwegians elected as king Prince Charles of Denmark, who, under
the title of Hakon VII, has since then reigned over the country.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY
Little is known of the religious ideas of the heathen
Norwegians, and this little rests on later sources, chiefly on
the Eddas of the thirteenth century. It seems certain that not
only animals, but also human beings (even kings), were
sacrificed to the gods, of whom first Thor (later Odin) was the
most important. The early Norwegians were characterized by
reckless courage and a cruelty that alternated with generosity
and magnanimity. Hakon the Good and Olaf Tryggoesson laboured to
introduce Christianity, and during the reign of Olaf Haroldsson
Christianity became, nominally at least, the prevailing
religion. Olaf Haroldsson was a zealous adherent of the new
faith. He built churches, founded schools, and exerted influence
by his personal example. After his death he was revered as a
saint: the church built at Nidaros (now Trondhjem) over his
grave was replaced later by the cathedral of Trondhjem, the
finest building in Norway. The Dioceses of Nidaros, Bergen,
Oslo, and Stavanger were soon founded, monks and nuns carried on
successful missionary work, and in a short time the land was
covered with wooden churches (Stovkirken) of singular
architecture; the few that remain still arouse admiration.
Gradually stone churches with a rich equipment were erected.
The Norwegian bishops were under the jurisdiction of the
Metropolitan of Lund until 1152, when the papal legate, Nicholas
of Albano, transferred the jurisdiction over the Norwegian
Church to the Bishop of Trondhjem and his successors. The
suffragans of the new archbishopric were: Hamar, Farve, and
Kirkwall in the Orkneys, Skalholt, and Holar in Iceland, and
Gardar in Greenland. The tithes, legally established before 1130
in the reign of Sigurd Jonsalafari, made possible the foundation
of a large number of new parishes and strengthened those already
existing. The Diocese of Oslo contained the largest number,
namely 300 parishes; Nidaros had 280. There was a chapter for
each see. Not much is known of the morals and religious spirit
of the people; it is certain that in the Catholic period much
more in proportion was given for purposes of religion than after
the Reformation. There are few details of the pastoral labours
of bishops and clergy, but the works of Christian charity,
hospices, lazarettos, inns for pilgrims, bear ready testimony to
their efforts for the advancement of civilization. Nor was
learning neglected. As early as the twelfth century the monk
Dietrich of Trondhjem wrote a Latin chronicle of the country,
and in 1250 a Franciscan wrote an account of his journey to the
Holy Land. Norwegian students who desired degrees went to the
Universities of Paris and Bologna, or, at a later period,
attended a university nearer home, that of Rostock in
Mecklenburg. With the abandonment of the old Faith and its
institutions was associated the loss of national independence in
1537. As early as 1519 Christian II had begun to suppress the
monasteries, and Christian III abetted the cause of Lutheranism.
Archbishop Olaf Engelloechtssen and other dignitaries of the
Church were forced to flee; Mogens Lawridtzen, Bishop of Hamar,
died in prison in 1642, and Jon Arason of Holar was executed on
7 November, 1550.
The large landed possessions of the Church went to the king and
his favourites. Many churches were destroyed, others fell into
decay, and the number of parishes was greatly reduced. The
salaries of the preachers, among whom were very objectionable
persons, were generally a mere pittance. Fanatics of the new
belief thundered from the pulpit against idolatry and the
cruelty of the "Roman Antichrist"; whatever might preserve the
memory of earlier ages was doomed to destruction; the pictures
of the Virgin were cut to pieces, burned, or thrown into the
water; veneration of saints was threatened with severe
punishment. Notwithstanding this, it was only slowly and by the
aid of deception that the people were seduced from the ancestral
faith. Catholicism did not die out in Norway until the beginning
of the seventeenth century. The pope entrusted the spiritual
care of Norway, first to the Nunciature of Cologne, and then to
Brussels, but the Draconian laws of Denmark made Catholic
ministration almost impossible. Whether the Jesuits appointed to
Norway ever went there is unknown. A Dominican who reached the
country was expelled after a few weeks. The Norwegian convert
Rhugius was permitted to remain, but was not allowed to exercise
his office. Conditions remained the same later, when the
supervision was transferred from Brussels to Cologne, from
Cologne to Hildersheim, and thence to Osnabrück.
There was no change until the nineteenth century when the laws
of 1845 and succeeding years released all dissenters, including
Catholics who had come into the country, from the control of the
Lutheran state Church. From the time of its foundation the
Lutheran Church had wavered between orthodoxy and rationalism,
and was finally much affected by the Pietistic movement, led by
Haugue. In 1843 a small Catholic parish was formed in
Christiania, and fro